US must be more open on economic policies. I sincerely hope this CD opinion piece does not reflect the opinion of the powers that be. Below is a comment I have attempted to lodge on the article. We shall see if it makes an appearance on the website...
I'm not really sure this article has any relevance at all. It is ludicrous to suggest the G7 Group of Nations fixes exchange rate policies, especially as China itself will not allow its currency to float freely. Furthermore, China's US dollar assets are by far the largest in the world, allowing China to influence global currency markets considerably, should it so desire.
To suggest G7 is somehow collectively responsible for allowing the market to become jittery fundamentally misunderstands how the market works - there is little anyone could have done even if they were "secretly" colluding. The US problem lies within its banking sector and is not a product of state financial policy.
In truth, China is the "financial cowboy" - making off with its people's money by controlling the money supply. Every time an export is sold, the central bank siphons off the dollars as they re-enter China, keeping its people out of pocket to avoid the hyper-inflationary pressure that would stop the country's economic miracle in its tracks.
I have read your opinion, I hope you now freely print mine.
Admittedly, this is a bit of a rant, and on reflection a more reasonable comment would have a much higher chance of being accepted on the China Daily website's comments section. However, it is an opinion, and as such is just as valid as the view expressed by Mr Liu Junhong.
... and apparently CD agree with me!
There's an infinitely better informed explanation of what's going on by Gerard Baker here
Monday, January 28, 2008
Putting the pieces together after the train crash
Sorry the title of this post is in bad taste, but the train accident in Shandong province that led to the deaths of 18 railway workers does serve to highlight a difference in reporting culture.
China Daily's account, sourced from Xinhua, gives details but makes no attempt to determine who is responsible. By contrast, AP notes:
No reason was given why it took more than one day for news of the accident to be released.
The workers were from the China Railway 16th Group. An official at the publicity department of the group hung up after saying, ''We have nothing to tell you.''
The phone at the publicity department of work safety bureau rang unanswered.
Now there is little additional information given there but it serves to inform readers that attempts were made to get to the root of the story - who is accountable,and where, if anywhere, heads should roll. Ahem.
Chinese local media may well have covered the story in more detail but it is ironic that CD should put the story on the front page, and then run a comment piece omitting any mention of the accident about the need to organization China's railway system over the Spring Festival rush.
Crowded trains are annoying but I'd be more bothered about a bunch of workers derailing the train than I would about keeping my hard seat.
China Daily's account, sourced from Xinhua, gives details but makes no attempt to determine who is responsible. By contrast, AP notes:
No reason was given why it took more than one day for news of the accident to be released.
The workers were from the China Railway 16th Group. An official at the publicity department of the group hung up after saying, ''We have nothing to tell you.''
The phone at the publicity department of work safety bureau rang unanswered.
Now there is little additional information given there but it serves to inform readers that attempts were made to get to the root of the story - who is accountable,and where, if anywhere, heads should roll. Ahem.
Chinese local media may well have covered the story in more detail but it is ironic that CD should put the story on the front page, and then run a comment piece omitting any mention of the accident about the need to organization China's railway system over the Spring Festival rush.
Crowded trains are annoying but I'd be more bothered about a bunch of workers derailing the train than I would about keeping my hard seat.
Baghdad pioneers shot in back
I very much enjoyed this article in the Times about a Chinese family moving from Hubei to Baghdad to open a Chinese restaurant. Their fearless bravery and pioneering spirit is one of the few bright stories to emerge from Iraq, and (stereo)typically Chinese in its character.
I hoped to follow up at China Daily (what possessed them in the first place!?) but upon phoning the Chinese embassy in Iraq, my colleague was told the family had been ordered back to China, nicely shifting from one stereotype to another. Apparently, talking to the media had fostered the impression Baghdad was a prime location for new businesses and the authorities feared an influx of wok-wielding restaurateurs in the Iraqi capital.
Oh well, it was a good effort and at least they're alive.
I hoped to follow up at China Daily (what possessed them in the first place!?) but upon phoning the Chinese embassy in Iraq, my colleague was told the family had been ordered back to China, nicely shifting from one stereotype to another. Apparently, talking to the media had fostered the impression Baghdad was a prime location for new businesses and the authorities feared an influx of wok-wielding restaurateurs in the Iraqi capital.
Oh well, it was a good effort and at least they're alive.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The lifecycle of a China-bound dollar
This is as good an explanation of how and why the US-China trade imbalance suits both countries as I have ever come across. It also details the mechanism through which China controls its foreign exchange assets. Courtesy of the Peking Duck.
A good time to be being paid in RMB...
A good time to be being paid in RMB...
Monday, January 21, 2008
An issue of trust
"That's not my job, my job is not to worry about whether we're going to offend some cadre down the street"
My esteemed colleague Charlie Shifflet is currently campaigning for the inclusion of a quote on our focus topic this week. The quote is contentious in that it suggests young people do not watch news-related videos in China because they do not trust the state as a viable news source. This is exactly the kind of thing the small cabal of a few (foreign) good men on this paper want to see included in our articles. The inclusion of such a quote would set apart from our competitors and give our readers a reason to trust us and continue to read our paper, even after their English level is sufficient to read Western news sources online.
Needless to say, Charlie has just returned to his seat "very disappointed". He did have a chance to fire off this riposte:
"We're writing for a new generation of Chinese and if we give them their parents way of looking at the world, they're very quickly going to grow tired of that world view. We need to give them a view that's not outdated and ignores the obvious."
What's the obvious here? That young Chinese don't watch as much news-related content online because they are, erm, young. Yes folks, that's the kind of penetrating analysis we like here, and heaven forbid it if we try to spice things up by daring to presume our readers might be intelligent to glean this for themselves upon a few moments quiet reflection...
My esteemed colleague Charlie Shifflet is currently campaigning for the inclusion of a quote on our focus topic this week. The quote is contentious in that it suggests young people do not watch news-related videos in China because they do not trust the state as a viable news source. This is exactly the kind of thing the small cabal of a few (foreign) good men on this paper want to see included in our articles. The inclusion of such a quote would set apart from our competitors and give our readers a reason to trust us and continue to read our paper, even after their English level is sufficient to read Western news sources online.
Needless to say, Charlie has just returned to his seat "very disappointed". He did have a chance to fire off this riposte:
"We're writing for a new generation of Chinese and if we give them their parents way of looking at the world, they're very quickly going to grow tired of that world view. We need to give them a view that's not outdated and ignores the obvious."
What's the obvious here? That young Chinese don't watch as much news-related content online because they are, erm, young. Yes folks, that's the kind of penetrating analysis we like here, and heaven forbid it if we try to spice things up by daring to presume our readers might be intelligent to glean this for themselves upon a few moments quiet reflection...
The killing of Wei Wenhua
I have finally stopped using being in China as an excuse not to blog. It's shameful really, hiding behind the firewall as if it can't be circumnavigated with two extra clicks through a proxy website.
I will now update this blog periodically with thoughts on my time in the 21st Century What's News? Room. I intend to make the focus of this blog a look at the differences in the way China and the West reports the same news events. Hopefully, this will allow for a reasoned assessment of what's really going on.
First up we have this gem from the New York Times.
That towns' officials are wont to beat the living daylights of people filming them beating the living daylights out of other people is no surprise. Nor does it surprise that the subsequent backlash was whipped up through Internet-based hysteria. A big focus of the Western press on China is the rising power of the Internet as a voice of local democracy and medium through which public pressure can be exerted on officialdom:
"The episode is the latest in which bloggers and others have used the Internet to force Chinese authorities to investigate beatings and other abuses by government officials."
Route this neatly through Tianmen's director of publicity...
"We’ve already solved the problem,” the director of publicity in Tianmen said Thursday by telephone. “You can read Xinhua’s articles. There’s no more news about it.”
And you end up with the China Daily line, which this morning reads: "More than 100 city officials from across the country have condemned city administrators in Hubei province for beating a man to death earlier this month..."
So as NYT would have it, the irresistible force of the Internet forced officials' hands, whereas CD reckons it was the system correcting itself. Ho hum.
NYT does not carry an update noting the officials' response and CD does not acknowledge the role bloggers played in highlighting the case. Somewhere in the middle is the whole truth, which might read something like this, if I were to write it:
More than 100 city officials from across China issued a statement condemning city administrators for beating a man to death for filming a dispute between the administrators and villagers in Hubei province. The statement came in response to mounting pressure from bloggers, who were anxious to ensure the killers of the dead man, Wei Wenhua, did not escape justice.
I will now update this blog periodically with thoughts on my time in the 21st Century What's News? Room. I intend to make the focus of this blog a look at the differences in the way China and the West reports the same news events. Hopefully, this will allow for a reasoned assessment of what's really going on.
First up we have this gem from the New York Times.
That towns' officials are wont to beat the living daylights of people filming them beating the living daylights out of other people is no surprise. Nor does it surprise that the subsequent backlash was whipped up through Internet-based hysteria. A big focus of the Western press on China is the rising power of the Internet as a voice of local democracy and medium through which public pressure can be exerted on officialdom:
"The episode is the latest in which bloggers and others have used the Internet to force Chinese authorities to investigate beatings and other abuses by government officials."
Route this neatly through Tianmen's director of publicity...
"We’ve already solved the problem,” the director of publicity in Tianmen said Thursday by telephone. “You can read Xinhua’s articles. There’s no more news about it.”
And you end up with the China Daily line, which this morning reads: "More than 100 city officials from across the country have condemned city administrators in Hubei province for beating a man to death earlier this month..."
So as NYT would have it, the irresistible force of the Internet forced officials' hands, whereas CD reckons it was the system correcting itself. Ho hum.
NYT does not carry an update noting the officials' response and CD does not acknowledge the role bloggers played in highlighting the case. Somewhere in the middle is the whole truth, which might read something like this, if I were to write it:
More than 100 city officials from across China issued a statement condemning city administrators for beating a man to death for filming a dispute between the administrators and villagers in Hubei province. The statement came in response to mounting pressure from bloggers, who were anxious to ensure the killers of the dead man, Wei Wenhua, did not escape justice.
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