Will Mr. Xiao buy Milan AC?

Mr. Xiao and Silvio Berlusconi

Do you know the connection between the Dalai Lama, Silvio Berlusconi, the French Naval Chief, Cannes Film Festival, the Milam AC football club, the Maoist leader Prachanda and the bottom of the oceans?

Simple, Dr. Watson, it is simply Mr. Xiao.

In January, I mentioned on this blog this shadowy figure associated with a few foreign ventures of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
The BBC News’ Shanghai correspondent had just reported about ‘China's super-rich communist Buddhists’, in which there was a footage of an audience given by the Dalai Lama to Xiao Wunan.
But who is Mr. Xiao?
Officially, he is the Vice-President of the Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation (APECF), an organization based in Hong Kong, generally linked to the CPC.

Mr. Xiao, the Buddhist
I personally heard the name of Mr. Xiao for the first time when in November 2012, the Indian media reported that ‘Prachanda gets China NGO help for Lumbini’
The Indian Express said: “Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda signed the much trumpeted $3 billion Lumbini development project with Asia Pacific Exchange Cooperation Foundation, a Chinese outfit, claiming it will elevate Lumbini, the birth place of Lord Buddha, to a world-class city attracting tourists and pilgrims from across the world.”
A Chinese Communist outfit investing in a Buddhist project!
Quite an unbelievable news!
The Indian newspaper continued: “The agreement was signed by Xiao Wunan, Executive Vice Chairman of APECF and Prachanda in his capacity as the Chairman of the high-powered steering committee appointed by the Government of Nepal. But members of the non-Maoist political parties in the committee challenged his right to sign the project without keeping the body informed.”
Minendra Rizal, former Minister for Culture and a Nepali Congress leader complained: "The issue was not discussed in the committee, and it has not authorised Prachanda to sign it in the manner he did.”
The controversy snowballed and a few weeks later, Prachanda one of the nine APECF’s Vice-Chairs backtracked “following protest from Nepali authorities, especially the way the government was bypassed in the deal.”
Later, the then Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai appointed a high-level steering committee with Prachanda as its Chairman to explore Lumbini's development.
A Maoist looking after Buddhist affairs, isn’t funny?
Already in July 2011, The China Daily had announced a plan to raise US $ 3 billion to turn Lumbini, Buddha's birthplace in Nepal into a Mecca for Buddhists: “a Hong Kong-based transnational foundation signed a memorandum with a United Nations agency that promotes industrialization in developing countries. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization will rely on its Beijing-based investment and technology promotion office for China to offer technical support for the project in Lumbini, Nepal.”
But, the alarm bells had started ringing in Delhi; it is logical considering that Lumbini is located a few kilometers away from the Indian border and 3 billion dollars is rather a large amount.
Mr. Xiao, apparently very keen to promote Buddhism, had claimed he had discussed the project with the UN authorities, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon who was supportive.
It did not smell too good.
The Economist had also reported that China was planning to invest $3 billion in Lumbini: “After Prachanda, the leader of Nepal’s Maoists, stepped down as prime minister in 2009, he several times met representatives of APECF. In July Chinese media reported that the Hong-Kong-based foundation—which is widely thought to have China’s backing—had signed an agreement with UNIDO, the UN’s industrial-development organisation, to invest $3 billion in Lumbini.” Later the Nepalese government refused to entertain the deal. “If this was an exercise in Chinese ‘soft power; it was a disaster’, The Economist commented.
Despite the 'uproar', Xiao Wunan was for a week in Nepal.
The APECF website says: "From August 14th to 22nd [2012], the Executive Vice Chairman of APECF Mr. Xiao Wunan, the Deputy Secretary General Ms. Gong Tingyu and Ms. Ge Chen, etc and representatives from China Railway 21st Bureau and China Potevio Group visited this area mentioned above, and had extensive exchanges with all parties in the aspect of bilateral and multilateral religious and cultural exchange and the further implementation of Lumbini Recovery Plan, and obtained fruitful results."
The Lumbini project is certainly not shelved as: "During the visit in Nepal, APECF delegation visited Mr. Parmanand Jha, the Vice President of Nepal, Mr. Prachanda, the President of Lumbini Development National Directive Committee, Mr. Posta Bahadur Bogati, the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Mr. Hridesh Tripathi, the Minister for Physical Planning, and Mr. Kamal Thapa, the Minister for Telecommunications."
It seems that Mr Xiao wanted also to help Nalanda!

In 2012 in Dharamsala

Mr. Xiao and the Dalai Lama
Around the same time, the China expert Jayadeva Ranade wrote in the DNA: “In a recent apparent bid to ease these tensions, Chinese authorities quietly sent an emissary and contacted Tibetan leaders in Dharamsala. Thinly cloaked as a venture of APECF, a Chinese government-sponsored NGO manned by Chinese Communist Party cadres, the initiative seeks to revive plans to consolidate and expand China’s presence in Nepal and ingress India and its border regions, ostensibly by encouraging Buddhist tourism in Lumbini in Nepal. At least one executive director of APECF has links to China’s military establishment.”
Ranade mentions Mr Xiao’s visit to Dharamsala: “Xiao Wunan, a senior CCP cadre and executive vice-president of APECF visited India and was received in Dharamsala on August 16 by the Dalai Lama, Lobsang Sangay, then ‘Kalon Tripa’ (prime minister) of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and Ugyen Thinley Dorjee, who is formally approved by the Dalai Lama and Beijing as the XVIIth Gyalwa Karmapa, or head of the Karma Kargyu sect. Xiao Wunan was accompanied by Gong Tingyu, a Deputy Secretary General of APECF and Simon Kei Shek Ming, reportedly a journalist of the Hong Kong magazine Yazhou Zhoukan.”
Ranade speculates: “During his meeting with the Dalai Lama, Xiao Wunan probably carried a personal message from a senior Chinese leader, possibly Xi Jinping. He could have informed the Dalai Lama that he was welcome to spend his last days in Beijing provided he gave up ‘anti-China’ activities and expressed support for the Communist regime.”
Apparently, the encounter between Mr. Xiao with the Karmapa did not go too well and the young Lama walked away. Mr. Xiao had probably ‘offered’ something to the Karmapa.
At that time, I wrote on this blog: “According to the website of the APECF, a delegation from this Hong Kong based organization ‘visited India and Nepal upon invitation’. The website gave some details: "During the visit in India, APECF delegation went to Dharamsala and visited the 17th Karmapa, both parties had a pleasant talk about the issue of bilateral religious and cultural exchange."
Well, it was not too pleasant for the Karmapa.
I then noted: “The APECF webmaster has forgotten to mention that Xiao Wunan also met with the Dalai Lama and Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected Tibetan leader.”
Why to mention Karmapa only?
The Chinese leadership probably wanted to keep the encounter with the Tibetan leaders as informal and low-key as possible.
During the next few days, none of the Tibetan websites reported the event which is an important one.
I then was not aware of some other facets of Mr. Xiao's character and skills.
Who is really Xiao? Who are his sponsors in Beijing? Why is Xiao suddenly back on the Buddhist stage? How did Xiao Wunan get the footage of his audience with the Dalai Lama?
Why has he decided to make it public to the BBC in January 2015?
Why has he not ‘released’ footages of his interviews with the Karmapa and Lobsang Sangye, the Tibetan Prime Minister? 
It is difficult to answer these questions.
By the way, when he met the Dalai Lama, Xiao Wunan was accompanied by Simon Kei Shek Ming (alias Ji Shiming), a Hong Kong journalist who later interviewed Prof. Jin Wei of the Central Communist Party School. The latter suggested that Beijing should invite the Dalai Lama to visit Hong Kong.
Was Mr. Xiao is an emissary of the Party? A messenger of Xi Jiping? Whatever it may be, there is no doubt that his visits abroad are related with the fact that Beijing tries to project a 'soft' image of a Middle Kingdom and aim at becoming the leader of the Buddhist world.

From where does the cash come from?
At the time the ‘Lumbini’ project was launched, a Chinese publication affirmed: “As part of the project, the APECF has promised to bring roads, communication equipment, water and electricity to Lumbini, a poverty-stricken United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage site that attracts about half a million visitors a year.”
Isn't it amazing?
The China Daily affirmed that the APECF’s board is composed amongst others of Steven Clark Rockefeller Jr.; Jack Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress; Leon H. Charney, a real estate tycoon and former US presidential adviser; Prachanda, leader of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist); and Paras, the former Nepali crown prince known for his excesses.
In 2011, Xiao Wunan had explained that the Lumbini project will help "transcend religion, ideology and race" and rejuvenate the culture and spirit of Buddhism. …Buddhist dignitaries from around the world, including those from the Mahayana, Hinayana and Tibetan schools of Buddhism, have expressed enthusiasm about the plans.”
This does not explain from where the billions come from.
But there is little doubt that Beijing, with the help of Xiao Wunan, is keen to see China taking the lead in the world Buddhist movement.
It is worth a few billion dollars.

Mr Xiao in France
But that is not all about Mr. Xiao.
In October 2014, Xiao Wunan was in France.
A Chinese publication reported: “A dinner to celebrate the Sino-French ‘SeaOrbiter’ was hosted by the Institut de France - the Jacques Rougerie Foundation and co-sponsored by the APECF. It was held in French navy headquarter on the evening of October 16. Admiral Bernard Rogel, chief of staff of the French Navy, Mr. Jacques Rougerie, initiator of the 'SeaOrbiter' project and Chairman of the Jacques Rougerie Foundation, Mr. Xiao Wunan, Executive Chairman of APECF, Mr. Li Shaoping, Cultural Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in France, and other distinguished guests attended the dinner. In March this year, during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to France, the Institut de France - the Jacques Rougerie Foundation and APECF signed a memorandum of understanding on the SeaOrbiter–China Project in Paris. They plan to build the world's first 'SeaOrbiter' in the South China Sea.”
SeaOrbiter has become a Sino-French project!!
In a speech in August, the eclectic Mr. Xiao had explained that China's State Council (Cabinet) “officially listed the SeaOrbiter as one of ten major scientific and technological projects and praised this cooperation from a national strategic perspective. ...China hopes this project will turn it into a maritime power and assume more responsibility exploring our oceans.”
Why is China so interested in the bottoms of the seas?
It is simple, Dr. Watson. This knowledge is required by the ever-increasing fleet of submarines of the Chinese People’s Liberation Navy (PLAN).
Collaboration with SeaOrbiter could greatly reinforce the PLAN’s knowledge of South China and East China Seas (the relatively ‘noisy’ Chinese submarines need to have good maps of the reliefs at the bottom of the seas).
A few billon invested in such ‘scientific’ project could bring high returns for the PLAN.

Xiao Wunan is indeed very versatile
A month earlier, he visited Tel Aviv at the invitation of Israel's Labor Party. The APECF website says: “During the visit, they exchanged ideas with Israel's Labor Party, the Prime Minister's Office, think tanks, the national bank and other institutions and achieved fruitful results.
He met Isaac Herzog, Chairman of Israel's Labor Party who gave him an autobiography of his father (the former president of Israel).
Mr. Xiao has a particularity: he likes to be photographed with important persons. One can understand, as he probably has to report to Beijing about the huge amounts of money he lavishly spends when he moves around.
Later, he was spotted in the United States.

Who are Mr .Xiao's sponsors?
Some rumours have linked an APECF's Vice-Chairman with Zhou Yongkang, the demoted former member of the Politburo's Standing Committee. Is Mr Xiao's money coming from in oil, gas, media, hospitality and communications?
It is doubtful because Zhou will be soon judged for corruption and Mr. Xiao is still going strong. But it is worth watching as he has apparently a free hand to distribute millions of dollars.

Mr Xiao and Cannes Festival
Mr. Xiao is not only interested in Buddhism and the bottom of the seas, he is also a film buff.
According to The China Daily, China plans to create an ambitious $1bn Cannes-style film festival in the eastern coastal province of Zheijiang.
An article in the daily says that the Chinese authorities are working with their Cannes counterparts on planning a film-themed tourist centre three hours from Shanghai.
The China Daily affirms: “Chinese authorities are teaming with counterparts in the French city, which has hosted the event since 1946, to bring a similar festival to the county of Anji. The aim is to build a Gallic-themed ‘film city’ and tourist centre in one of China's most scenic regions, which is known for its bamboo forests and is a pilot region for green building.
And who appears on the red carpet of the Chinese Cannes?
Yes, guessed right: Mr Xiao of course!
“Xiao Wunan, of the APECF, told The China Daily that the program was aimed at establishing a milestone for film in the world's most populous nation," writes the Chinese daily.
Mr. Xiao explains: “This film festival should also maintain strong Chinese features. We hope this program can push China's film industry to a higher level.”
The Chinese newspaper give the rationale of the project: “Anji was only connected to the Chinese national network of highways between 2000 and 2002, and it remains one of the country's less-developed regions. However, it now takes fewer than three hours to reach Shanghai by car and the area has increasingly attracted investment from China and abroad.”
One can already guess that the carpet of the Anji Film Festival will be red.

Mr. Xiao and ASEAN
You may think that Mr. Xiao deals only in Oceanography and Spirituality or occasionally Cinema, but you are wrong, he is also involved in politics.
In November 2014, Xinhua covered the meeting between the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and those of China who gathered in Myanmar for their annual meeting, “to usher a new era in their dynamic cooperation for mutual benefit.”
Xinhua said that China and the 10-member ASEAN labeled the past 10 years a ‘golden decade’ for their relationship, but the next 10 years will be ‘diamond decade’.
After 21 Asian countries, including nine ASEAN nations, established the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the infrastructure freak Mr. Xiao told Xinhua: “The ASEAN countries want to use China's investment to improve their infrastructure, which will certainly consolidate the economic bond between the two sides."
The official news agency reported that Mr. Xiao believed that “an improved infrastructure system, such as high-speed railway, electricity and telecom networks, will further boost the transfer of technology, export of goods and movement of skilled labor in the region.”
The APECF Buddhist Vice-President philosophically stated: “Differences are inevitable in the China-ASEAN relations, but both sides will see their economic cooperation develop in a deeper and more pragmatic way."
Mr. Xiao clearly understands politics and economics.

Mr. Xiao, the football fan
But Mr. Xiao is also a sportsman.
Xinhua reported: “An APECF delegation led by executive vice chairman Xiao Wunan met former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at the International University for Liberty on March 9, 2015. They had comprehensive and in-depth discussions and reached consensus on the areas of cooperation including education, media, sports and health. They signed an MOU.”
Xinhua explains that Berlusconi is one the three most influential people in the world (sic) along with Mr. Vladimir Putin and Mr. Barack Obama: “Mr. Berlusconi has worldwide influence and a legendary life experience, making great advances in the areas of business, media, sports, etc. He was ranked No. 1 in Italy's Fortune List for years, founding and leading many world class media groups, leading and managing the AC Milan football club to become the most successful and influential football club in history.”
But the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China did not tell us the entire truth: Mr. Xiao is trying to buy the Milan AC Football club from Mr. Berlusconi.
An Italian website linked with the illustrious club (forum.acmilan-online) asserted that Richard Lee, a wealthy Hong Kong businessman known for importing luxury sports cars was heading a Chinese consortium bidding to take over Italian soccer giants AC Milan: “Lee was rumored to be in the San Siro to look for partnerships in Asia at that time. He came back three months later with some of the most powerful Chinese business men and also has the government of China invested in this consortium.”
La Gazzetta dello Sport had earlier reported that Richard Lee Man-fai has been in negotiations with club owner Silvio Berlusconi “as head of a group with close links to the Beijing government.”
Then Mr. Xiao enters the football field.
The Italian website said: “The APECF are rumored to be one of the major players in this consortium and they are partly owned by the government. President of China, Xi Jinping, seems to have given his personal backing for this deal and wants it to happen.”
Forum.acmilan-online explains the move: “The Chinese see Milan as an opportunity to improve the standard of football in China. They have always had larger than life ambitions and President Xi's latest ambition is not different - he wants China to host the World Cup and win it. If you went thirty years back and heard China say we want to become an important player in the economy of the world, we would've laughed at them and guess who's laughing thirty years later? Yep. They see Milan as a perfect opportunity to have a presence in Europe and China has been investing heavily in Italy in recent years, so this large investment in Italy wouldn't be a one-off or the first of it's kind. Milan for them is not just a football club that'll be treated like a fun project, no not at all. They see this deal as a very important step for the culture of the Chinese people, they have said that this deal is a lot more than just football.”
Will Mr. Xiao be more successful than with Lumbini and Dharamsala?
Only the future will tell us.
In the meantime, India should watch the eclectic CPC’s ‘United Front Work’ official, simply because he has a lot of money, and whether it is in Delhi, Lumbini, Dharamsala, Paris or Roma, money could be a temptation.

The shadowy Mr. Xiao

The meeting with the Karmapa did not go so well

The BBC News’ Shanghai correspondent has just reported about ‘China's super-rich communist Buddhists’, in which there is a footage of an audience given by the Dalai Lama to Xiao Wunan, a shadowy Chinese character.
I had mentioned Xiao on this blog in October 2012.
I then wrote:

According to the website of the Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation (APECF), a delegation from this Hong Kong based organization ‘visited India and Nepal upon invitation’.
The [organization] website gave some details: "During the visit in India, APECF delegation went to Dharamsala and visited the 17th Karmapa, both parties had a pleasant talk about the issue of bilateral religious and cultural exchange."
The APECF webmaster has forgotten to mention that Xiao Wunan, a senior CCP cadre and executive vice-president of APECF also met with the Dalai Lama and Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected Tibetan leader.
Why to only mention Karmapa?
The Chinese leadership probably wanted to keep the encounter with the Tibetan leaders as informal and low-key as possible.
None of the Tibetan websites reported the event which is an important one.

It appears that the meeting with the Karmapa did not go well and the young lama eventually walked out. It is not know what exactly happened.
A year earlier, I had already mentioned Xiao Wunan in connection with the so-called Lumbini project:

The Economist recently reported that China plans to invest $3 billion in Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha. The Economist explained: “After Prachanda, the leader of Nepal’s Maoists, stepped down as prime minister in 2009, he several times met representatives of The Asia Pacific Exchange and Co-operation Foundation (APECF). In July Chinese media reported that the Hong-Kong-based foundation—which is widely thought to have China’s backing—had signed an agreement with UNIDO, the UN’s industrial-development organisation, to invest $3 billion in Lumbini.” The objective is to make a ‘Mecca for Buddhists’. The Economist said that the news caused an uproar in Nepal as neither the central government nor the local authorities responsible for Lumbini were consulted. Later the Nepalese government refused to entertain the deal. “If this was an exercise in Chinese ‘soft power; it was a disaster’, The Economist commented.
Despite the 'uproar', Xiao Wunan stayed a week in Nepal.
The APECF website says: "From August 14th to 22nd, the Executive Vice Chairman of APECF Mr. Xiao Wunan, the Deputy Secretary General Ms. Gong Tingyu and Ms. Ge Chen, etc and representatives from China Railway 21st Bureau and China Potevio Group visited this area mentioned above, and had extensive exchanges with all parties in the aspect of bilateral and multilateral religious and cultural exchange and the further implementation of Lumbini Recovery Plan, and obtained fruitful results."
The Lumbini project is certainly not shelved as: "During the visit in Nepal, APECF delegation visited Mr. Parmanand Jha, the Vice President of Nepal, Mr. Prachanda, the President of Lumbini Development National Directive Committee, Mr. Posta Bahadur Bogati, the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Mr. Hridesh Tripathi, the Minister for Physical Planning, and Mr. Kamal Thapa, the Minister for Telecommunications."
And Mr Xiao wants also to help Nalanda!

About the encounter between the Dalai Lama and Xiao, posing as an emissary of Xi Jinping, I then concluded: “Anyhow, it is an extremely interesting development."
I thought that it could have been a small step forward.
At that time I was not aware of some other facets of Mr. Xiao's character.
The recent BBC reportage raises some serious issues.
Who is really Xiao?
Who are his sponsors in Beijing?
Why is Xiao suddenly back on the Buddhist stage?
How did Xiao Wunan get the footage of his audience with the Dalai Lama?
Why has he decided to make it public now?
Why has he not ‘released’ footages of his interviews with the Karmapa and Lobsang Sangye, the Tibetan Prime Minister?
It is difficult to answer these questions.
By the way, when he met the Dalai Lama, Xiao Wunan was accompanied by Simon Kei Shek Ming (alias Ji Shiming), a Hong Kong journalist who later interviewed Prof. Jin Wei of the Central Communist Party School. The latter suggested that Beijing should invite the Dalai Lama to visit Hong Kong.
If Xiao is a Chinese emissary, a messenger, there is no doubt that some of his visits abroad are related with the fact that Beijing has tried to project a 'soft' image of a Middle Kingdom, which could become the leader of the Buddhist world.
Yes, Beijing would like to be Marxist and Buddhist at the same time!
Already in July 2011, The China Daily had announced a plan to raise US $ 3 billion to turn Lumbini, Buddha's birthplace in Nepal into a Mecca for Buddhists: “a Hong Kong-based transnational foundation signed a memorandum with a United Nations agency that promotes industrialization in developing countries. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization will rely on its Beijing-based investment and technology promotion office for China to offer technical support for the project in Lumbini, Nepal.”
This then, it appears to have been shelved, at least temporarily.
But from where this money would have come from?
From the cash box of the Party?
The Chinese publication then affirmed: “As part of the project, the Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation has promised to bring roads, communication equipment, water and electricity to Lumbini, a poverty-stricken United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage site that attracts about half a million visitors a year.”
Isn't it amazing?
Who is this APECF?
The China Daily says that the board is composed amongst others of Steven Clark Rockefeller Jr.; Jack Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress; Leon H. Charney, a real estate tycoon and former US presidential adviser; Prachanda, leader of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist); and Paras, the former Nepali crown prince known for his excesses.
In 2011, Xiao Wunan, executive vice-chairman of the foundation had explained that the Lumbini project will help "transcend religion, ideology and race" and rejuvenate the culture and spirit of Buddhism. …Buddhist dignitaries from around the world, including those from the Mahayana, Hinayana and Tibetan schools of Buddhism, have expressed enthusiasm about the plans.”
There is little doubt that some Chinese officials, with the help of Xiao Wunan would like China to take the lead in the world Buddhist movement.
In October 2014, I wrote about the Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) held in China.
Xinhua then reported: “Hundreds of the world's Buddhists gathered at an ancient temple in northwest China's Shaanxi Province to open the World Fellowship of Buddhists' 27th general conference. Congregating around a relic said to contain one of the Buddha's finger bones at the Famen Temple in Baoji City, more than 600 representatives from 30 nations and regions were in attendance.”
It was the first time that the three-day event, organized by the Bangkok-headquartered WFB, met on the Chinese soil (from October 16 to 18).
Xinhua also said: “Buddhist leaders at the opening ceremony included the 11th Panchen Lama, Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu [Gyaltsen Norbu], and Nichiyu Mochida, chief abbot of Japan's Sogen-ji Temple.”
Dr Kalinga Seneviratne, who attended the WFB on behalf of the German Dharmadutta Society delegation from Sri Lanka, commented on the impressive display of Chinese Buddhist culture and hospitality.

Xiao with Admiral Rogel, Chief of the Naval Staff (France)

Around the same time, Xiao Wunan was in France.
A Chinese publication reported: “A dinner to celebrate the Sino-French "SeaOrbiter" was hosted by the Institut de France - the Jacques Rougerie Foundation and co-sponsored by the Asia Pacific Exchange & Cooperation Foundation. It was held in French navy headquarter on the evening of October 16. Admiral Bernard Rogel, chief of staff of the French Navy, Mr. Jacques Rougerie, initiator of the 'SeaOrbiter' project and Chairman of the Jacques Rougerie Foundation, Mr. Xiao Wunan, Executive Chairman of APECF, Mr. Li Shaoping, Cultural Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in France, and other distinguished guests attended the dinner. In March this year, during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to France, the Institut de France - the Jacques Rougerie Foundation and APECF signed a memorandum of understanding on the SeaOrbiter–China Project in Paris. They plan to build the world's first 'SeaOrbiter' in the South China Sea.”
I did not know that SeaOrbiter was a Sino-French project!!
In a speech in August, the eclectic Mr. Xiao had explained that China's State Council “officially listed the SeaOrbiter as one of ten major scientific and technological projects and praised this cooperation from a national strategic perspective. ...China hopes this project will turn it into a maritime power and assume more responsibility exploring our oceans.”
Xiao Wunan is indeed very versatile.
A month earlier, he visited Tel Aviv at the invitation of Israel's Labor Party. His website says: “During the visit, they exchanged ideas with Israel's Labor Party, the Prime Minister's Office, think tanks, the national bank and other institutions and achieved fruitful results.
He met Isaac Herzog, Chairman of Israel's Labor Party who gave him an autobiography of his father (the former president of Israel).
Xiao Wunan has a particularity: he likes to be photographed with important persons. One can understand, as he probably has to report to Beijing about the huge amounts of money he lavishly spends when he moves around.
Bizarre Affair!
Later, he was spotted in the United States.
As one of the characters in the BBC reportage admits, today in China, one becomes Buddhism to get richer.
It looks like the case of Mr. Xiao. It is true that to get rich in China was till recently relatively easy (with or without Buddha's help).
The question remains: who are Xiao's sponsors?
Some rumours have linked an APECF's Vice-Chairman with Zhou Yongkang, the demoted former member of the Politburo's Standing Committee. Is Mr Xiao's money coming from in oil, gas, media, hospitality and communications?
It is up to Wang Qishan and his Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to find out.
But presently, Xiao Wunan is doing well ...till his karma catches up with him!

A Chinese Train to Lumbini?

One more instances of  China dictating  the foreign and defence policy of Nepal.
AsiaNews reports that China has asked Nepal to close its military training facilities in the former kingdom of Mustang due to the presence of too many foreigners.
The Nepali training centre which is located in Mustang, close to the border with Tibet, had been the headquarters of the Tibetan guerrilla against Communist China in the 1960s and early 1970s.
According to Asianews: "Beijing is concerned about the presence of officers and soldiers from other countries, and points out that the CIA provided aid to Khampa rebels from this district. Nepal appears ready to accommodate the Chinese, but its army offers alternative solution."
Seven foreign nations are currently trained in mountain warfare the military facilities in Mustang District. Beijing is deeply concerned about the presence of foreign personnel close to its border, pointing out that "several anti-Chinese actions began in the area".
The agency reports that the Nepali authorities appear inclined to listen to Beijing's demands "since China has become the country's most important economic and trading partners".
In 1990, the Nepali Army opened military its facilities to foreign troops and officers, including some from the United States, India and a few  European countries. The objective was to train the troops in a high risk mountainous area. Mustang was 'perfect' for unconventional war games.
But Beijing still remembers the Khampa fighters who from their bases in Mustang attacked the Chinese convoys in Tibet in the 1960s; at that time, the Tibetan freedom-fighters were financed by the Central Intelligence Agency.
Though the Nepali government in Kathmandu appears willing to bend once again to Beijing's demands, it is not the case of the Army.
Defence Minister Atma Ram Pandey 'understood' the Chinese request, he stated: "The presence of foreign troops in such a sensitive area may not be appropriate for our country's security," however, under Nepal's new Constitution, the Army may not to submit to the government's decision.
Army spokesman Jagadis Chandra Pokharel said: "We are aware of the Nepali government's concern and of the strategic importance of the training centre in the area," adding: "We have requested our government not to stop the training but rather monitor the activities of foreigners to ensure that nothing is done against the security of the country."
The pressure of Beijing is bound to mount in the months to come while China will continue to be very 'generous' with Nepal.

Asoka Pillar at Lumbini, Buddha's birthplace

A railway line to Lumbini?
According to the Nepali publication,The Republica, Luo Sang Jiang Cun (Chinese name of Lobsang Gyaltsen), chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) assured Nepali officials visiting Tibet that China would expand a rail service to Nepal, once the train reaches the southern city of Shigatse.
Gyaltsen made the commitment during a meeting with the visiting Nepali Chief Secretary, Leela Mani Poudel in Lhasa.
The Nepali delegation had come to participate in the '14th Nepal-China´s Tibet Economic and Trade Fair - 2013' in Shigatse.
The Nepali delegation requested China's help for the construction of a line from Kathmandu to Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha near the Indian border.
Quoting Lobsang Gyaltsen, Hari Basyal, the Nepalese Consul General in Lhasa elaborated: "Feasibility study is underway for expanding rail service between Nepal and Tibet. We will immediately commence the process for implementing the plan once railway line reaches Shigatse from Beijing."
Gyaltsen expressed China's commitment "to extend a meaningful support to Nepal for achieving the common goal of socio-economic development."
Chief secretary Poudel asked the Chinese government's help to develop trade infrastructures which are instrumental in promoting bilateral trade.
Later Poudel and Ding Yexian, the executive vice-chairman of TAR inaugurated the Economic and Trade Fair 2013.
Incidentally, Ding Yexian is a Chinese cadre born and educated in Tibet. His father served in the 18th Army in the fifties and later settled in Tibet.
One could say that Ding is Han Tibetan or a Tibetan Han.
Interesting case!
For Nepal, there is no free meal, Poudel had to reiterate Nepal's policy of not allowing anti-China activities in its soil.
What could Poudel do?
He had to request the Chinese officials to increase the economic cooperation in the field of infrastructure development such as dry port facilities and expansion of road and railway networks as well as in crucial sectors of economy such as construction, energy, manufacturing, tourism and agriculture in Nepal.
Ding Yexian said that bilateral trade fairs would be an important forum for enhancing trade and commercial interaction between entrepreneurs of both the countries. He expressed China's willingness to help Nepal for its socio-economic development and emphasized the need for joint efforts to fully operationalize the agreed border points between Nepal and China.
According to the organizers, more than 200 representatives from 70 business enterprises, 36 observer business enterprises, and representatives of Trade and Export Promotion Center are participating from Nepal in the biennial fair. Similarly, around 200 participants from Tibet are showcasing their products in the five-day event.
In the present circumstances, it is doubtful if the training camp in Mustang will remain open for long.
But more worrying for India is a Chinese railway line to Lumbini, a few kilometers from the Indian border.

China excels in making fakes, but religion is not its cup of tea

Buddha's finger?

My article China excels in making fakes, but religion is not its cup of tea is posted in NitiCentral.com.

Click here to read...

A couple of years ago, a Chinese site mentioned Château Lafitte, one of the most famous vintage Bordeaux wine. The site gave this surprising information: “Château Lafitte Rothschild, a wine estate in France, produces 15,000 to 25,000 cases of wine annually, or about 200,000 bottles. China's annual quota of Lafitte wine imported from France is only 50,000 bottles. However, the annual sale of Lafitte in China exceeds 3 million bottles, meaning 80 to 90 % of Lafitte sold in China is fake.”
The Chinese are well-known for their prowess in retro-engineering; it is obvious that if Chinese engineers are able to duplicate a Russian fighter plane’s engine, there should be no problem to ‘produce’ a Côte de Bordeaux as only the label has to be copied. The fake bottle will serve its purpose: showing-off for the Chinese nouveaux riches.
Around the same time, PCWorld had reported that Chinese authorities had found a number of fake Apple Stores (22 just in the city of Kunming, Yunnan). The Rothschild family, owners of famous vintage since the 19th century, can find consolation in the fact that no Chateau Lafitte stores need to be opened in China for the fake red wine to continue to flow abundantly in the Middle Kingdom.
This story came back to mind while I was reading in The South China Morning Post, an article entitled, “Ancient Buddhist temple in China bogged down by fake monks and debt.”
The Honk Kong papers writes: “A provincial city’s ambitious plans for turning an ancient Buddhist temple near Xian into the world capital of Buddhism and listing it on a stock exchange have stagnated, leaving the temple surrounded by fake monks and sham Buddha statues.”
It quotes the outspoken Guangzhou-based Southern Weekly which says the project around the 1,700-year-old Famen Temple in Shaanxi province ‘went horribly wrong’.
The temple is famed for having the relic of the Buddha’s finger bone. The Southern Weekly’s story does not tell us if, like the Chateau Lafitte labels, the relic is fake; it is however surprising that the Great Son of India’s finger would have found its way to the Middle Kingdom (although in 1955, Zhou Enlai lent a ‘tooth’ of the Buddha to Rangoon, making the Burmese people greatly feel obliged by this noble gesture).
Communist China has always seen Buddhism as a good business opportunity. According to the Southern Weekly, at the Famen temple, “fake monks from Hubei province roam a nearby scenic park that opened in 2009 and that tourists and pilgrims mistake as part of the temple. The impostors get commission for collecting donations to the Shaanxi Famen Charitable Foundation.”
The foundation is apparently a front name for the industrial group which operates the park, Shaanxi Famen Temple Scenic Park Cultural Group.
But business is tough these days, even in China! The company does not collect enough ‘donations’ to make profits. Last year, the public-listed enterprise lost some 50 million US dollars, that’s a lot for a spiritual undertaking.
The South China Morning Post adds: “When the park opened in 2009, it quickly became apparent that the massive project was not the goldmine it had promised to be for the government, and investors disappeared. In search for new capital, its operators set up an organisation, which could collect donations from Buddhist believers and bankroll the company.”
The abbot and monks refused to be used by the company; eventually they sent their resignation, which was refused. The Weekly quotes Zeng Qin, the head of Xian’s Buddhist Association, who said that he had ‘involuntarily’ been selected as head of the foundation. With his colleagues, he had been forced to sign a contract with the enterprise, but the Buddhist monks have now put their foot down and refused to extend their contract. They consider that the project had brought ill-fame to the temple. The monks also refused to take over the project, knowing too well about the debts.
The latest information about the ‘Chinese Buddhist venture’ must be rather worrying for the Lumbini project which is in the process of being taken over by some wealthy and well-connected Chinese businessmen.
Two years back, The Economist mentioned “a bizarre project in Nepal, at Buddha’s birthplace: a Chinese development proposal causes disbelief”.
The weekly magazine pointed out that after stepping down as Prime Minister in 2009, Prachanda, the Nepali Maoist leader regularly met representatives of the ‘Asia Pacific Exchange and Co-operation Foundation’, particularly its head, one Xiao Wunan based in Hong Kong with a doubtful past and many links in the Party.
The Chinese media had reported earlier that the Hong-Kong-based foundation had signed an agreement with UNIDO, the UN’s industrial-development organisation, to invest $3 billion in Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha. It wanted to set up a ‘Mecca for Buddhists’ with train links, an international airport, hotels and a Buddhist university.
Many in Delhi were nervous, as Lumbini is located a few kilometers from the Indian border and India can certainly not remain silent if huge infrastructure development is planned by China at her doorstep.
What about the 'famous' Nalanda University of Amartya Sen? The only foreign donor seems to be the Chinese government which pledged 1 million US dollars for the project. Is it not disturbing? The Chinese may be keen to ‘invest’ in spiritual ventures, but does it make the projects, like the wine or the Buddha’s relics genuine?
Chinese are good at many things (infrastructure, along their expansible 'borders' for example), but running Buddhist institutions is not their forte; it is understandable for people who do not believe in religion.
Let us hope that Famen temple’s failure will, for some time, cool the Chinese investors’ fervour; the longer it does, the better for Nepal and India.

A Step Forward or Backward?

Xiao Wunan and the Karmapa

According to the website of the Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation (APECF), a  delegation from this Hong Kong based organistaion "visited India and Nepal upon invitation".
The site said: "During the visit in India, APECF delegation went to Dharamsala and visited the 17th Karmapa, both parties had a pleasant talk about the issue of bilateral religious and cultural exchange."
The APECF webmaster has forgotten to mention that Xiao Wunan, a senior CCP cadre and executive vice-president of APECF also met with the Dalai Lama and Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected Tibetan leader.
Why to only mention Karmapa?
The Chinese leadership probably wanted to keep the encounter with the Tibetan leaders as informal ans low-key as possible. 
None of the Tibetan websites reported the event which is an important one.
A year ago, I had mentioned on this blog:

The Economist recently reported that China plans to invest $3 billion in Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha. The Economist explained: “After Prachanda, the leader of Nepal’s Maoists, stepped down as prime minister in 2009, he several times met representatives of The Asia Pacific Exchange and Co-operation Foundation (APECF). In July Chinese media reported that the Hong-Kong-based foundation—which is widely thought to have China’s backing—had signed an agreement with UNIDO, the UN’s industrial-development organisation, to invest $3 billion in Lumbini.” The objective is to make a ‘Mecca for Buddhists’.The Economist said that the news caused an uproar in Nepal as neither the central government nor the local authorities responsible for Lumbini were consulted. Later the Nepalese government refused to entertain the deal. “If this was an exercise in Chinese ‘soft power; it was a disaster’, The Economist commented.

Xiao Wunan and Nepal Vice-President

Despite the 'uproar', Xiao Wunan stayed a week in Nepal. 
The APECF website says: "From August 14th to 22nd, the Executive Vice Chairman of APECF Mr. Xiao Wunan, the Deputy Secretary General Ms. Gong Tingyu and Ms. Ge Chen, etc and representatives from China Railway 21st Bureau and China Potevio Group visited this area mentioned above, and had extensive exchanges with all parties in the aspect of bilateral and multilateral religious and cultural exchange and the further implementation of Lumbini Recovery Plan, and obtained fruitful results."
The Lumbini project is certainly not shelved as: "During the visit in Nepal, APECF delegation visited Mr. Parmanand Jha, the Vice President of Nepal, Mr. Prachanda, the President of Lumbini Development National Directive Committee, Mr. Posta Bahadur Bogati, the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Mr. Hridesh Tripathi, the Minister for Physical Planning, and Mr. Kamal Thapa, the Minister for Telecommunications."
And Mr Xiao wants also to help Nalanda!
Regarding, the re-designation of the Kalon Tripa (Dr Lobsang Sangay) as 'Sikyong’ (political leader), it is doubtful if the new designation is more swallowable to the Chinese, as it has a strong connotation with the Regency. The last regent of Tibet, Taktra Rinpoche was called 'Sikyong'. It would mean that the Chinese are ready to accept a 'political leader' to run the Tibet Affairs after the departure of the Dalai Lama. Probably not.
Anyhow, it is an extremely interesting development. In my book The Negotiations that never were, I have always advocated a direct approach between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese leadership. 
It can only help clarify the suspicions.
It is hopefully a small step forward.
 
A concerned dragon: China’s fresh overture to Tibetans
DNA
Jayadeva Ranade
October 26, 2012
As China prepares to usher in a new leadership at the 18th Party Congress scheduled to open in Beijing on November 8, there is mounting concern in senior echelons of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at the rising resentment in the ethnic Tibetan minority.
Particularly worrying would have been the self-immolation on October 15, by the grandfather of the 10-year old Beijing-recognised VIIth Gungthang Rinpoche, which highlights the strained relationship between Tibetans and Communist authorities. A new feature is that recently thousands of Tibetans, disregarding heavy armed police presence, assemble at sites of the self-immolations to pray for the deceased and mark the spot.
In a recent apparent bid to ease these tensions, Chinese authorities quietly sent an emissary and contacted Tibetan leaders in Dharamsala. Thinly cloaked as a venture of ‘Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation’ (APECF), a Chinese government-sponsored NGO manned by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cadres, the initiative seeks to revive plans to consolidate and expand China’s presence in Nepal and ingress India and its border regions, ostensibly by encouraging Buddhist tourism in Lumbini in Nepal. At least one executive director of APECF has links to China’s military establishment.
Xiao Wunan, a senior CCP cadre and executive vice-president of APECF visited India and was received in Dharamsala on August 16 by the Dalai Lama, Lobsang Sangay, then ‘Kalon Tripa’ (prime minister) of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and Ugyen Thinley Dorjee, who is formally approved by the Dalai Lama and Beijing as the XVIIth Gyalwa Karmapa, or head of the Karma Kargyu sect. Xiao Wunan was accompanied byGong Tingyu, a Deputy Secretary General of APECF and Simon Kei Shek Ming, reportedly a journalist of the Hong Kong magazine Yazhou Zhoukan.
During his meeting with the Dalai Lama, Xiao Wunan probably carried a personal message from a senior Chinese leader, possibly Xi Jinping. He could have informed the Dalai Lama that he was welcome to spend his last days in Beijing provided he gave up ‘anti-China’ activities and expressed support for the Communist regime.
Xiao Wunan’s meeting with Lobsang Sangay, elected head of the CTA, is significant. It suggests Beijing may be willing to talk to its representatives. Lobsang Sangay is also ‘known’ to the UFWD for facilitating contacts between Chinese academics and the Dalai Lama. Coincidentally, within a month of the meeting the designation of the Head of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) was changed from ‘Kalon Tripa’ (or prime minister) to the less controversial — from Beijing’s perspective —’Sikyong’ (or political leader).
Xiao Wunan’s meeting with Ugyen Thinley Dorjee reportedly ended abruptly when the monk took offence at the tenor of his questions. Xiao Wunan’s photograph with Ugyen Thinley Dorjee is, however, posted on APECF’s website.
Xiao Wunan also visited Nalanda when he met officials of the proposed university and assured financial assistance. In Delhi he met officials in the Ministries of Culture and Tourism. Returning to Kathmandu, Xiao Wunan disingenuously announced that APECF now has the support of the Government of India and would be organising three and four-day package tours for Buddhist pilgrims travelling from Lumbini to India.
Interestingly, Xiao Wunan separated from an official Chinese delegation visiting Kathmandu to visit India. The Chinese delegation included Zou Lanming, vice general manager of the Lanzhou-based China Railway 21st Bureau. Xiao Wunan’s presence could suggest China plans to extend the railway from Xigaze to possibly Lumbini, on the border with India. A month later Xiao Wunan announced that APECF had signed an MoU with UK’s Vertical Theme Park (VTP) Group for a Lumbini Cloud Tower project, with the Nepal Government’s approval.
Nepal’s My Republica on October 11, reported the Nepal Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation’s denial that it was aware of any deal to develop Lumbini as an ‘international peace city’. Prachanda, leader of the Unified Communist Party-Marxist Leninist (UCP-ML), however, continues to be a vice president of APECF.
Meanwhile the CCP’s policy governing Tibetans, of combining economic incentives with intense political persuasion, remains unchanged. In an unusually candid interview to the Party mouthpiece People’s Daily on September 21, 2012, Chen Quanguo, party secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), enumerated the economic benefits extended to the people of Tibet. Disclosing measures to ensure ‘social stability’, he listed that 21,804 cadres had been sent to work in 5,451 administrative villages, that the Party had compiled complete sets of files and that 698 police stations had been established. All monasteries and temples now have photographs of the ‘four leaders’ (Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao), the national flag and a copy each of the People’s Daily and Tibet Daily. A project has also been started to ‘cultivate’ 100 senior monks and ‘guide’ Tibetan Buddhism to ‘adapt itself to socialist society’.

Two separate worlds

We lived in a strange world.
On one side, we have ‘great leaders’ taking ‘vital’ decisions for our future at the G20 Summit in Cannes on the French Riviera, while on the other side ordinary people (known as the ‘common man’ in Indian political parlance) struggle with their miseries and their aspirations. In today’s world, there is no connection between the two.
While the ordinary man cannot really understand the ins and outs of the famous economic ‘crisis’ (except for the fact that the bankers never lose ‘their’ money), the 20 most powerful persons of the planet promise that everything will be solved for our good.
What is this crisis about? For dummies, it can be simplified thus: Europe is broke, the US are deeply indebted, while China is rich and does not know what to do with its Yuans (it is also true of India, but in a much smaller measure).
As a result, Sarkozy and his colleagues have been courting China.
A few thousands kilometers away, Tibetan monks and nuns are immolating themselves. The latest on the list (the eleventh) was Palden Choesang, a 35 years old nun from Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. She set herself afire in protest against the Chinese government’s suppression of religious freedom. Before dying near a Buddhist stupa, she shouted, ‘Freedom for Tibet’, ‘Long live H.H the Dalai Lama’ and ‘Let the Dalai Lama return to Tibet’. Immediately after her death, heavy contingents of police arrived and placed further restrictions on the clergy’s practices.
What is the connection between the two events? There is none. For a simple reason: as poor, sinking Europe had to beg from China, the West must remain silent while China is asked to ‘help’ by investing some of its $3.2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves in the bailout fund. But China is not even responsive. Hu told Sarkozy that the European debt problem should be mainly solved by Europe: “We hope that the implementation of the plan will address current difficulties in Europe and boost European economic development”.
It is not difficult to understand why everybody keeps mum about the tragic events happening in Tibet.
This series of self-immolations began on March 16 when Phuntsog, a 21-year old monk of Kirti Monastery set himself on fire in Ngaba. It continued on 15 August with Tsewang Norbu of Tawu Nyatso Monastery. On 17 October, Tenzin Wangmo a 20-year old nun was the first nun to immolate herself.
In the meantime, the Chinese propaganda says that the Tibetans have never been so well off. Xinhua reported: “Low-income families in Tibet whose per capital net income in a year is lower than 1450 yuan could get minimum living funds. …It’s said that Tibet has increased the minimum living fund standard by 4 times since 2007.”
So where is the problem?
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) which follows closely the human right situation in Tibet, gave a rationale for the extreme step taken by these monks and nuns: “Movement is controlled and religious practices are either limited or completely forbidden. Several laws and policies are specifically aimed to control Tibet’s Buddhist institutions.”
TCHRD remarked: “Such acts not only violate the very principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but also the Constitution of China. Article 33 of the Chinese constitution provides for the safeguard and protection of Human Rights.”
But who is to tell this to Hu Jintao who could tomorrow be Europe’s ‘savior’?
The Dalai Lama on tour in Japan affirmed: “these incidents of self-immolation are very very sad. The leadership in Beijing should look into the ultimate cause of these tragic incidents. These Tibetans have faced a tremendously desperate situation, otherwise nobody will commit such drastic acts”.
He would like the Chinese leadership to pay serious attention to their minority policies: “Relying on force is counter-productive. Force can never bring unity and stability.”
But Beijing’s leadership is not ready to listen.
The renown dissident and poetess Tsering Woeser recalled on her blog that in 1948, Quang Duc Thich, a Vietnamese monk burnt himself in Saigon. Woeser said that the 67-year-old monk’s last words were, “before closing my eyes and moving towards the vision of the Buddha, I respectfully plead to the [Vietnamese] President to take a mind of compassion towards the people of the nation and implement religious equality …I call the venerables, reverends, members of the sangha and the lay Buddhists to organise in solidarity to make sacrifices to protect Buddhism.” Woeser believes that the same aspirations and feelings pushed Tibetan monks and nuns to set themselves on fire.
Do not conclude prematurely that the Communist regime in Beijing does not like Buddhism. On the contrary, these days Beijing seems to love the philosophy taught by Gautam Buddha.
On October 14, 2011, Nobel Prize Laureate Amartya Sen met Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun; Sen was heading a delegation of the Nalanda University Mentor Group. According to the Chinese press: “The two sides exchanged opinions on the rebuilding of Nalanda University and China-India cultural and educational exchanges and cooperation …Nalanda University was known in ancient times as Nalanda Temple where Monk Xuanzang of Tang Dynasty fetched Buddhist scriptures.”
The Chinese are said to have pledged 1 billion dollars for the project. It means that Beijing ‘loves’ Buddhism, does it not? So, why the Tibetan monks and nuns continue to immolate themselves?
Unfortunately, today Buddhism is just a propaganda tool in Beijing’s agenda which dreams to spread its ‘soft power’.
The Economist recently reported that China plans to invest $3 billion in Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha. The Economist explained: “After Prachanda, the leader of Nepal’s Maoists, stepped down as prime minister in 2009, he several times met representatives of The Asia Pacific Exchange and Co-operation Foundation (APECF). In July Chinese media reported that the Hong-Kong-based foundation—which is widely thought to have China’s backing—had signed an agreement with UNIDO, the UN’s industrial-development organisation, to invest $3 billion in Lumbini.” The objective is to make a ‘Mecca for Buddhists’.
The Economist said that the news caused an uproar in Nepal as neither the central government nor the local authorities responsible for Lumbini were consulted. Later the Nepalese government refused to entertain the deal. “If this was an exercise in Chinese ‘soft power; it was a disaster’, The Economist commented.
Today’s China seems to have a different definition of ‘culture’ or ‘religion’ than the rest of the world.
In an official Chinese publication Outlook Weekly, a Chinese professor of the Party School explained what Beijing means by ‘culture’: “The socialist core value system is the soul rejuvenating the country and the essence of the socialist advanced culture. …The core value of socialism is to liberate mankind. The four basic elements that make up the socialist core value system are the guiding principles of Marxism, the common ideals of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the national spirit and the spirit of the times, and socialist morality.”
One cannot expect the Tibetan monks and nuns who continue to immolate themselves, to understand these doctrinal niceties, they just want to practice the Dharma.
It is all the more indecent that a renowned person like Amartya Sen who pretends to revive the Nalanda Tradition of compassion and openness, not only remains quiet about the immolations, but continues to go begging to Chinese authorities for a purely Indian cultural project.
The world is indeed upside-down.

Mega Chinese project in Lumbini?

The Economist said that the Nepalese media speculated about the status of the "Asia Pacific Exchange and Co-operation Foundation" wanting to invest billions in Lumbini.

Was this mysterious organization a front for either the Indian or the Chinese intelligence service? 

It concluded "The truth seems even stranger".

One could ask: why should an organization, based in Hong-Kong with China's backing, be representing the interests of India.

Strange speculations!

It is however surprising that UNIDO, a UN organization can decide to invest $3 billion in Lumbini (isn't it a big amount of money) without referring the issue to the stakeholders (India is one of them).

Let us not forget that Lumbini is located a few kilometers of the Indian border  and India can't certainly remain silent, if huge infrastructure development is planned at her doorstep.

The Himalayan News Service reported that "The resignation of PM Jhala Nath Khanal has poured cold water over Chinese leader Zhou Yongkang’s much awaited visit to Nepal". 

Zhou had planned to raise Beijing's concerns about the activities Tibetans in Nepal (the reviewing Nepal-China Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1960 was also expected to be on the delegation’s agenda). 

It did not happen. Apparently, Zhou did not mention "a single word regarding Tibetan issue during the hour-long meeting with Khanal, though it was widely projected as the main agenda of the visit."

According to a senior Nepali official: "the PM’s resignation was the reason behind their mind change," adding: "They might have thought that it was not the right time to raise serious issues as the government had become a caretaker one.”
However in his meetings with Khanal, Maoist Chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal, NC President Sushil Koirala and Former PM Madhav Kumar Nepal, Zhou expressed 'awkwardness' about the PM’s resignation on the eve of his visit. He added that China would like to see stability in Nepal.

In his meeting with Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Zhou implied that Nepal needs to improve its weak security arrangements along Nepal-China border and Beijing wished to help Kathmandu in this.

A bizarre project in Nepal
At Buddha’s birthplace
A Chinese development proposal causes disbelief
The Economist
Aug 20th 2011
AFTER Prachanda, the leader of Nepal’s Maoists, stepped down as prime minister in 2009 he several times met representatives of the “Asia Pacific Exchange and Co-operation Foundation”. The Nepalese media speculated that this mysterious organisation was a front for either the Indian or the Chinese intelligence services, the two giant neighbours often accused of meddling in Nepal’s politics. The truth seems even stranger.
In July Chinese media reported that the Hong-Kong-based foundation—which is widely thought to have China’s backing—had signed an agreement with UNIDO, the UN’s industrial-development organisation, to invest $3 billion in Lumbini, a village in southern Nepal. Lumbini is the birthplace of the Buddha, which the project aimed to make a “Mecca for Buddhists”, with train links, an international airport, hotels and a Buddhist university.
The news caused uproar in Nepal. Neither the central government nor the local authorities responsible for Lumbini said they had been consulted about, or even heard of, the project. UNIDO’s officers say they will not comment on the affair while they try to discover how the organisation got involved. If this was an exercise in Chinese “soft power”, it was a disaster.
India is highly sensitive to Chinese activities in Nepal. It regards Nepal as part of the Indian sphere of influence, and it is easily Nepal’s biggest trading partner and source of investment. Nepal pegs its currency to the Indian rupee. Through close cultural and linguistic ties, and the machinations of its diplomats and spies, India has long exercised a strong influence on Nepal’s politics. It is widely believed that India helped topple Prachanda (whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal) as prime minister in 2009 partly because he was thought to be too close to China.
Now the role of Nepal’s other giant neighbour is becoming more visible. Chinese interests were once limited to demanding support for their policies in Tibet. To that can now be added burgeoning commercial interests in hydro-electricity, construction and telecoms. This week China’s top security man, Zhou Yongkang, became the latest in a series of senior Chinese officials to visit Nepal, bearing loans and aid packages. Chinese diplomats have begun discreetly treating Nepalese journalists to whisky-fuelled dinners and offering them visits to China—blandishments that were once the preserve of India. Chinese hotels, restaurants and brothels have multiplied in Kathmandu.
How to interpret it all? Observers agree that security remains China’s top priority in Tibet, though it is undoubtedly looking to expand its economic influence, too. For Nepal, balancing India’s influence by engaging more with China is attractive. One of the poorest countries in Asia, Nepal should benefit greatly from improving economic ties with its booming neighbours. As for Lumbini, the Buddha scheme has been shot down, but attempts to revive it are already under way. If the would-be investors handle it better next time, such a huge project may prove irresistible.