China-based corporate web behind troubled Africa resource deals. For centuries, wave after wave of colonists and foreign investors have swept through Africa, looking for profits from the continent’s abundant reserves of oil and prized minerals. Many instead left records of corruption and broken promises of shared wealth with Africans. It is against this backdrop that an eager conglomerate has recently been drawing attention and generating headlines throughout Africa. China-Sonangol is part of a global network of companies extracting oil in Angola, buying gold in Zimbabwe, building luxury condominiums in Singapore and developing property in Manhattan. Its executives have met with African heads of state and challenged the global oil and mining giants who’ve been operating on the continent. And China Sonangol ventures have attracted strategic curiosity — some of its deals are the subjects of U.S.
China Sonangol has shown itself to be innovative and well-connected. New business model CIF’s first major foray into Africa was in 2005. The Angola connection. China chooses Ubuntu as state-endorsed operating system - CNET Mobile. Canonical, the organization behind popular Linux distribution Ubuntu, is working alongside the Chinese government to deliver a state-endorsed operating system. According to Canonical, it's working alongside the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to bring a suitable Ubuntu version to China. The operating system, which will be known as Ubuntu Kylin, is expected to be released in April. Ubuntu Kylin is part of a broader strategy on China's part to increase the adoption of open-source initiatives in the country, according to Canonical. China's ministry was deciding between several different Linux distributions before ultimately choosing Ubuntu. The Chinese government has not commented publicly on the software, but its true intentions have already been called into question.
WCIT-12 leak shows Russia, China, others seek to define 'government-controlled Internet' New proposals submitted to the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) aim to redefine the Internet as a system of government-controlled, state-supervised networks, according to a leaked document. The WCIT-12 summit in Dubai is currently where the U.N.'s International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is being held, where member state countries are going head-to-head about proposed revisions to the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR), a legally binding international treaty signed by 178 countries. The leaked document [PDF] was proposed by a member state bloc comprised of Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Sudan, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Updated Monday, December 10th, at 3:13 a.m. PST: According to ITU's Twitter feed, TechWeek Europe and The National, the proposal has now been withdrawn. Both Russia and China have been criticized in the past for various actions over their legislative approaches to their citizens' Internet access. China Blocks Web Access to Times. Tea Leaf Nation: In Chinese Migrant Workers' Viral Video, Glimmers of Digital Activism's Future. By David Wertime, co-founder of Tea Leaf Nation It's performance art, parody, social media genius, and a desperate cry for help all in one. If any further proof of social media's power were necessary, it's arrived: An underpaid Chinese migrant worker has made a viral video in which she mimics an official in China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) while asking for her own unpaid salary.
The video was uploaded to Youku, China's Youtube, four months ago. But it appears to have gone viral on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter, after netizen @卫庄 posted it on October 8. A migrant worker that the video refers to as Miao Cuihua (苗翠花) exhibits admirable sang-froid throughout her staged four-minute appeal, which mixes plain and forceful language with purposefully stilted bureaucratic jargon. "We have asked repeatedly and not been paid," Miao politely complains.
What follows is yet more brave. A man playing a reporter from the imaginary "Wage-Seeking News Agency" (讨薪社) then appears. Egypt gains balance and leverage in China. Egypt gains balance and leverage in ChinaBy Chris Zambelis Occurring amid a groundswell of revolutionary activism in the Arab world, the fall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 heralded a new era for Egypt. Under Mubarak's authoritarian rule, Egypt embodied the paradigm of stability pursued by its longtime ally the United States in the Middle East.
Mubarak's ouster, however, has redefined Egypt's geopolitics. Previously suppressed political movements led by the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliate Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) as well as an assortment of other Islamist currents now are chartering a new path for the country with a recalibration of Egyptian foreign policy assuming a top priority. As a result, the decision by President Muhammed Morsi to travel to Beijing from August 28 - 30 on his inaugural state visit outside of the Middle East illustrates the central place China occupies in Egyptian strategy. Notes:1. (Copyright 2012 The Jamestown Foundation.) Study Finds China Censorship Of Social Media Is Real, Pervasive. Wei Jingsheng: Political Upheaval in China Significant | Democracy & Human Rights. By Shar AdamsEpoch Times Staff Created: March 30, 2012 Last Updated: April 9, 2012 Wei Jinsheng (Shar Adams/The Epoch Times) WASHINGTON—In 1997, after suffering a total of 18 years of torture and detention for pursuing democracy in China, activist Wei Jingsheng was suddenly released and exiled to America; a result of negotiations by then-President Bill Clinton.
Today he is the most recognized Chinese human rights and democracy activist, a winner of many human rights awards and chairman of the Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition. He now lives in Washington, D.C., and spoke with The Epoch Times about significant political upheavals presently occurring in China. The Epoch Times: Mr. Wei, How do you view the events going on in China now after former Chongqing chief of police, Wang Lijun’s attempted defection at the U.S. Wei Jingsheng: Initially, the conflict within the Chinese Communist Party was just the normal daily stuff; they do this all the time, this infighting.
Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Chinese Regime in Crisis | topic. Top Official Fired in Jiangsu Province March 5, 2013, 7:40 pm Chinese official media recently announced that the secretary of the largest city in Jiangsu Province has been dismissed from all his posts. Beijing’s ‘Two Meetings’ Meet, Rubber Stamp Ready March 5, 2013, 2:00 pm Thousands of "delegates" have gathered in Beijing for two political meetings that will formalize the communist leadership changeover, and give the appearance of voting on a [...] Breaking a Vase to Hit a Rat: Bo Xilai’s Trial. China: Rights & Liberties. Something extraordinary has happened in the Chinese village of Wukan. Inside Wukan: the Chinese village that fought back. Rebel Chinese village of Wukan 'has food for ten days'
The Siege of Wukan. UPDATE 4: Malcolm Moore has posted a new story on this, which I highly recommend you read in its entirety right here. Also added another image from Weibo. UPDATE 3: Additional images from Weibo added, section on Weibo censorship added at the end of the post. UPDATE 2: One of the accounts posting images from inside Wukan — a young man who lives there — has been closed by Sina. Clearly, they’re taking this pretty seriously. I know of two other Weibo accounts from users inside Wukan, but I wonder how quickly their accounts will be closed, too. UPDATE 1: Malcolm Moore has posted some more details on his time in the village — and how he got in there — here (you may need a Google Plus account to see that.
The Telegraph’s Malcolm Moore published an explosive story today about Wukan, the village in southern China that is now in open rebellion against the local government. Ok, finished? The rumour in Wukan is CCTV may be coming on Dec 16, so the police may try and reassert control before then. The Siege of Wukan, Part II: Weibo Impressions. (This post will likely be updated repeatedly throughout the day tomorrow, so do check back frequently or follow @ChinaGeeks on Twitter for notifications about updates.) UPDATE 1: Added video (h/t to CDT), see bottom of post. Earlier today I wrote a long post about the Wukan protests and siege, which was based primarily on these two articles by Malcolm Moore. If you haven’t already, please read them both now: Inside Wukan: the Chinese village that fought backRebel Chinese village of Wukan ‘has food for ten days’ As I have no way of getting to, let alone into, Wukan, I began to search Sina Weibo for updates from people in that area.
Unsurprisingly for a town of more than 10,000 people, there are plenty of them on Weibo. As discusses yesterday, some of their accounts have been deleted, and specific posts about the protests and the siege are being deleted rapidly. They also are very aware of the thin ice they’re walking on. It’s dangerous here. Rating: 10.0/10 (3 votes cast) The Siege of Wukan, Part III: Making Martyrs. (See Part I, Part II) UPDATE 3: With regard to the video links below, my connection to the first file was dropped, but I was able to watch the first few minutes. It appears to be a documentary of sorts on Wukan; however, my file ended while the film was still introducing the town’s history. I’m now trying to download both files again. UPDATE 2: Just spotted the following weibo post from one of the Wukan connections. Not sure exactly what it’s referring to, but it was just posted a few minutes ago: Just now a person [or people] from the government came to our school and forced students to sign something pertaining to the selling off of the Biguiyuan land.
UPDATE 1: Information in the first paragraph corrected. Malcolm Moore has left Wukan. Surprisingly, though, many of the Weibo accounts I found yesterday remain open. Take, for example, the video below. So, how is this video being interpreted by folks in Wukan? I will update this story or post additional stories as the situation warrants. Global race on to match U.S. drone capabilities. Little is known about the actual abilities of the WJ-600 drone or the more than two dozen other Chinese models that were on display at Zhuhai in November. But the speed at which they have been developed highlights how U.S. military successes with drones have changed strategic thinking worldwide and spurred a global rush for unmanned aircraft.
More than 50 countries have purchased surveillance drones, and many have started in-country development programs for armed versions because no nation is exporting weaponized drones beyond a handful of sales between the United States and its closest allies. “This is the direction all aviation is going,” said Kenneth Anderson, a professor of law at American University who studies the legal questions surrounding the use of drones in warfare. “Everybody will wind up using this technology because it’s going to become the standard for many, many applications of what are now manned aircraft.” China on fast track Raising alarm Relaxing U.S. export controls.