Innholdsfortegnelse for July 21, 2016 i Beijing Review

Price Indexes China’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew 1.9 percent year on year in June, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on July 10. The June data slowed from a 2-percent growth registered in May and dropped for the second consecutive month from 2.3 percent in April. The CPI grew 2.1 percent in the first half of 2016, while the annual target was set around 3 percent. NBS statistician Yu Qiumei attributed the moderate inflation mostly to eased food prices, which increased 4.6 percent year on year in June, slowing from 5.9 percent in May. Since January, CPI has been calculated using a new comparison base and included more products and services and slightly reduced the weight of food. China’s producer price index (PPI),…

Geng Lu Bu (Manual of Sea Routes), handed down since the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), was one of the major guides used by Zheng Qingzhi’s great grandfather to sail on the South China Sea. Zheng is vice mayor of Qionghai City in south China’s Hainan Province, and his great grandfather was captain of a fishing vessel during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). “For many generations, my ancestors lived on fishing. With Geng Lu Bu, they reached the Nansha, Xisha and Huangyan islands,” Zheng told reporters. Historically, such fishing trips could last up to half a year, landing on islands like Taiping, Zhongye and Ganquan, where fresh water was available. Wells dug by long-for-gotten Chinese fishermen can still be found today. Some fishing families still retain handwritten copies of Geng Lu Bu, yellowed…

In late June, Iraqi forces recaptured the city of Falluja from the so-called Islamic State group (ISIS) in a significant victory in the war on extremism. While the nation strives to overcome radical militants on the battlefield, it must at the same time resolve internal political deadlock. Protests against Iraqi leaders have been mounting in recent months, as participants demand that the government fulfill its promises to reform and curb corruption. As early as this February, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Jawaad al-Abadi proposed a cabinet reshuffle in a bid to increase independent technocrats and put an end to the provisional political system that allocates parliamentary seats on the basis of ethnic identity and religious faction, which has been in place since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. By the end of March,…

Located at the breathless roof of the world, Lhasa was host to the Tibet Development Forum, which sought to discuss ways to further the region’s progress. The forum, which lasted from July 7 to 8, herded in 130 scholars, business leaders and journalists from all over the world. After a three-day tour encompassing religious sites, local enterprises and housingrelocation projects, participants absorbed local culture while adapting to the lack of oxygen—Lhasa, capital city of southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, sits above the rest of the world at an altitude of 3,490 meters. The forum, which was organized by the State Council Information Office and the regional government, gave the delegates a chance to talk about Tibet’s entrepreneurship and industrial upgrading, environmental protection, the preservation of tradition, infrastructure projects as well…

As the world shifts from the shadow of the global financial crisis, G20 economies are now reaching toward the goal of creating long-term governance mechanisms. While fiscal and financial policies topped the agenda in times of crisis, trade and investment facilitation measures are gaining traction amid a slowdown in global trade and investment growth. “As an organization that covers economies that take up 85 percent of the world’s economy, 80 percent of world trade and outbound investment and 70 percent of inbound investment, the G20 should improve trade and finance to help contribute to global growth,” said Wang Shouwen, China’s Vice Minister of Commerce. From July 9 to 10, the first G20 Trade Ministers Meeting convened in Shanghai, dur-ing which the ministers agreed to improve global trade and investment governance.…

Premier Li Keqiang arrives in Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia, on July 13 for an official visit and the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit. During his visit to Mongolia, the first by a Chinese premier in six years, a series of cooperation deals covering areas such as trade, infrastructure, finance and energy were signed between the two neighbors. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the inauguration of ASEM, an intergovernmental forum aimed at cementing bonds between Asia and Europe. The 2016 summit focused on the theme of “20 Years of ASEM: Partnership for the Future Through Connectivity.”…

THE UNITED STATES Twice a year, the sunset in Manhattan, New York City, lines up with the east-west axis of the street grid , creating a beautiful visual effect, shown here on July 11 THE UNITED KINGDOM Theresa May is kissed by her husband, Philip, on July 11 after receiving the news that she will lead the Conservative Party and the nation SOUTH SUDAN Displaced people prepare for evacuation at a UN refugee camp in the capital Juba on July 12 due to the eruption of heavy fighting in the city again after a short period of ceasefire POLAND At the NATO Summit held in Warsaw, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (front left), German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President François Hollande (front right) watch an air show on July…

Less than two weeks after the Brexit referendum, the long-awaited Report of the Iraq Inquiry into the Iraq War, or the Chilcot Report, has slammed the invasion and heavily criticized former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Describing the military action in Iraq instigated by the United States and the UK in 2003 as an “invasion,” the report says the UK Government’s decision to participate in the campaign was based on flawed intelligence and inadequate planning. Besides Iraqi fatalities, estimates of which range approximately from 105,000 to 601,000, the war caused the dislocation of tens of thousands of people and led to tens of thousands more living in misery. The end of Saddam Hussein’s strongman politics did not bring freedom and well-being to the country and its people, but instead, led…

As provinces throughout China strive to eradicate poverty by 2020, in line with plans set out in the country’s 13th Five- Year Plan (2016-20) for social and economic development, southwestern Guizhou Province seeks to set an example through tourism projects and related business activities. “Guizhou has a population of over 6 million living under poverty, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the country’s impoverished population,” said Li Yao, Director of the Guizhou Provincial Government’s Finance Office, at the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference. The forum was held in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou, on July 8-10. Participants discussed a range of topics regarding sustainable development, ecological and environmental protection and poverty alleviation. “Poverty alleviation concerns people’s livelihoods and is therefore the most pressing task for Guizhou in the next five years,”…

Copyedited by Bryan Michael Galvan The UK’s The Banker magazine recently unveiled its 2016 Top 1,000 World Banks rankings, among which 119 are Chinese banks, with 17 making it to the top 100. Sorted by the size of their Tier 1 capital—the core measure of a bank’s financial strength from a regulator’s point of view—four Chinese banks are ranked among the world’s top 10 this year, with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China topping the list for the fourth time in a row. The number of Chinese banks holding positions in the top 10 list increased from zero in 2004 to four in 2016, an inspiring transformation that indicates a rise in the strength of Chinese banks’ capital. But simmering risks also belie these achievements. A comparison between the…

Exploring the Deep Blue Deep-sea exploration ship Zhang Jian sets sail on July 12 from Shanghai to engage in scientific research in the South Pacific Ocean. During the two-month voyage, scientists will test the navigation abilities of the ship and its equipment in waters off the coast of Papua New Guinea. Crime Clampdown Chinese authorities have decided on a one-year campaign against hospital-related crimes to protect medical personnel and institutions. Starting this month, nine agencies, including the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Justice, will focus on crimes committed in hospitals or against medical staff, according to the NHFPC. The campaign sets out to improve order and safety in medical institutions, said NHFPC official Guo Yanhong. Abuse and violence against…

The long line of workers wearing rain boots, wide straw hats and wielding large bamboo brooms worked in unison, their movements seemingly choreographed. Man against nature—the massive clean-up campaign was unenviable, but vital. On the hot afternoon of July 10, the streets of Yongtai County in southeast China’s Fujian Province were thick with sludge and debris, the aftermath of Nepartak, the first typhoon to land on China’s mainland this year. The storm abated as it moved further inland, leaving in its wake a trail of destruction. Submerged farmland, waterlogged cities, collapsed homes and sadly, human casualties. As the sun set, the sound of the sweeping brooms continued deep into the night. The typhoon made landfall on the shore of Shishi City in Fujian at 1:45 p.m. on July 9 and…

In an unprecedented move of sheer desperation, it took the kowtowing antics of a movie producer to catapult a film’s popularity and push its earnings into the multi-millions. Song of the Phoenix, an art-house film featuring relatively unknown actors, graced local headlines this summer for all the wrong reasons. In a bid to revive the film, which returned a poor screening rate of less than 1 percent in its first week, 63-year-old producer Fang Li was seen kowtowing for more cinema screening slots on a live-streaming interview. Fang’s bizarre plea saved the film. Many moviegoers, out of either curiosity or sympathy, flocked to theaters to watch the film. By July 6, Song of the Phoenix had grossed unexpectedly high box office earnings of $13 million after its two-month release ended…

People in Beijing, especially Chinese, often say they feel mystified when meeting me for the first time. I look Indian, but I speak fluent Chinese, and I come from Sudan. I am here because I love languages and I wanted to learn Chinese. But, I am also here because Arabic, the language I speak back at home in Khartoum, is becoming increasingly important in China. When I was a mass communications student at the University of Khartoum, I wanted to learn a new language. While exploring which one would be best for me, I discovered a government-sponsored program that annually selects 25 Sudanese students to study Chinese in China. So, I applied with alacrity, but it was not easy. I was not among the first chosen few but was put…