On the brink of revolutionary turmoil

My article On the brink of revolutionary turmoil appeared today in The New Indian Express. Click here to read.

China's Cyber activities

If there was an Award for the Most Misleading Statement of the Year, Sachin Pilot, the young Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology would certainly be the Laureate.
He said in an interview: "There have been attempts to hack into the government computer network, but till date there has been no loss of vital information.
'Yes, there have been attempts but I can categorically say that not one attempt has been successful,' the minister said. 'The government's computer network system, maintained by the National Informatics Centre, is highly efficient,' Pilot told IANS in an interview." 
Read my interview with Shishir Nagaraja, you will understand.

Cyberwar declared as China hunts for the West’s intelligence secrets
The Times
March 8, 2010
It is estimated that in the past year the number of attacks on US government agencies rose to 1.6 billion per month. Systems in the EU are even more vulnerable
Michael Evans, Giles Whittell
Urgent warnings have been circulated throughout Nato and the European Union for secret intelligence material to be protected from a recent surge in cyberwar attacks originating in China.
The attacks have also hit government and military institutions in the United States, where analysts said that the West had no effective response and that EU systems were especially vulnerable because most cyber security efforts were left to member states.
Nato diplomatic sources told The Times: “Everyone has been made aware that the Chinese have become very active with cyber-attacks and we’re now getting regular warnings from the office for internal security.” The sources said that the number of attacks had increased significantly over the past 12 months, with China among the most active players.
In the US, an official report released on Friday said the number of attacks on Congress and other government agencies had risen exponentially in the past year to an estimated 1.6 billion every month.
The Chinese cyber-penetration of key offices in both Nato and the EU has led to restrictions in the normal flow of intelligence because there are concerns that secret intelligence reports might be vulnerable.
Sources at the Office for Cyber Security at the Cabinet Office in London, set up last year, said there were two forms of attack: those focusing on disrupting computer systems and others involving “fishing trips” for sensitive information. A special team has been set up at GCHQ, the government communications headquarters in Gloucestershire, to counter the growing cyber-threat affecting intelligence material. The team becomes operational this month.
British and American cyber defences are among the most sophisticated in the world, but “the EU is less competent”, James Lewis, of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said. “The porousness of the European institutions makes them a good target for penetration. They are of interest to the Chinese on issues from arms sales and nuclear non-proliferation to Tibet and energy.”
The lack of routine intelligencesharing between the US and the EU also contributes to the vulnerability of European systems, another analyst said. “Because of Britain’s intelligence-sharing relationship with America our systems have to be up to their standards in a way that some of the European systems don’t,” he explained.
Jonathan Evans, Director-General of MI5, warned in 2007 that several states were actively involved in large-scale cyber-attacks. Although he did not specify which states were involved, security officials have indicated that China now poses the gravest threat. Beijing has denied making such attacks.
Robert Mueller, FBI Director, has warned that, in addition to the danger of foreign states making cyber-attacks, al-Qaeda could in the future pose a similar threat. In a speech to a security conference last week, Mr Mueller said terrorist groups had used the internet to recruit members and to plan attacks, but added: “Terrorists have \ shown a clear interest in pursuing hacking skills and they will either train their own recruits or hire outsiders with an eye towards combining physical attacks with cyber-attacks.”
He said that a cyber-attack could have the same impact as a “well-placed bomb”. Mr Mueller also accused “nation-state hackers” of seeking out US technology, intelligence, intellectual property and even military weapons and strategies.To help to fight the growing threat, the Office of Cyber Security, set up last year as part of the Government’s national security strategy, liaises with America’s so-called cyber czar, Howard Schmidt, who was appointed by President Obama to protect sensitive government computers.
British officials said that everyone in sensitive jobs had been warned to be especially cautious about disseminating intelligence and other classified information. Whether British intelligence is involved in retaliatory attacks is never confirmed. However, officials said that there was a significant difference between being part of an information war and indulging in aggressive attacks to disrupt another country’s computer systems.
Dr Lewis said that neither the US nor any of its Western allies had formed an effective response to the Chinese threat, which has its origins in a massive boost to Chinese technology ordered by Deng Xiaoping, the late Chinese leader, in 1986. The West’s own cyber offensives have so far been directed largely at terrorists rather than nation states, giving China virtually free rein to penetrate Western systems with its own world-class hackers and increasingly popular Chinese-made components. “You almost have to admire them,” Dr Lewis said. “They have been very consistent in their goals.”

China takes Nepal over

While India was sleeping, China has gradually taken control over Nepal. We can see the result today. The Dalai Lama's Representative has been taken in preventative custody before March 10 (Tibetan Uprising Day). China's take-over of the former Himalayan kingdom is bad omen for India's security.

As March 10th in Tibet looms Nepal falls into the arms of China over Tibet 'issue'
UTC
March 08 2010
The unofficial Tibetan representative of the Dalai Lama was taken into custody on March 7 by Nepalese police in a climate of increasing tension in Nepal as the 51st anniversary of Tibetís National Uprising Day on March 10 approaches. Nepalese police are being deployed across the Kathmandu Valley in an attempt to prevent any large gatherings or vigils by Tibetans as a show of compliance with Chinese government warnings against Nepal allowing its territory to be used for any alleged anti-China activities.
The border crossing between Tibet and Nepal at the Friendship Bridge has been effectively closed in the lead-up to the anniversary, according to sources in Nepal. Flights to Lhasa were grounded on the tarmac at Kathmandu airport from Friday (March 5). Nepalese travel agents have warned that tourists may not be able to enter the Tibet Autonomous Region from Kathmandu until several days after March 10.
Over the past few weeks there have been numerous police raids on houses and hotels in the area around the Tibetan stupa, Boudhanath, a major pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Buddhists. These raids reflect an approach believed to be sanctioned by the Nepal government of harassment and extortion, which is contributing to a sense of fear and insecurity among long-staying Tibetan refugees in Nepal. The risks are even higher for new arrivals from Tibet ñ with two senior police officers referring to threats of deportation.
The temporary detention yesterday of Thrinley Gyatso, who serves unofficially as the representative of the Dalai Lama in Nepal and who is a senior member of the Tibetan community in Kathmandu, is believed to be a measure to intimidate the Tibetan community and prevent protests in Nepal against Chinese rule in Tibet. Thrinley Gyatso was released on the same day after several hours of questioning and verbal intimidation.
A demonstration in Lhasa on March 10, 2008 sparked a wave of protests that spread across Tibet, and resulted in an often brutal Chinese police crackdown and enhanced security presence in many Tibetan areas. In 2008, the Tibetan community in Kathmandu demonstrated its solidarity with Tibetans in Tibet by protesting repeatedly in front of the Chinese Embassy, at times provoking brutal responses by Nepal police and resulting in numerous arrests.
The 2008 protests in Tibet and Nepal coincided with Chinese government preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which included carrying the Olympic torch to the summit of Mount Everest (Chomolungma in Tibetan) on the Tibet-Nepal border. Since that time, it has become a priority of the Chinese government to stop any demonstration of dissent by Tibetans, however peaceful, in Nepal. Space for Tibetans within Nepalís civil society is constricting due to the Chinese governmentís focus on Tibetan issues in its relations with the Nepalese government, and shifting internal politics in Nepal. (See ICT report: http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/ict-news-reports/an-uncertain-welcome-how-chinas-influence-impacts-tibetans-nepal.)
One senior Nepalese police officer was quoted yesterday as saying: "We wont spare any pro-Tibetan if found guilty of provoking anger. They will be immediately arrested and handed over to the Department of Immigration for deportation." (Deputy Superintendent of Police Pradhumna Karki, quoted in the Himalayan Times today, March 8). The Himalayan Times also quoted Deputy Inspector General of Nepal Police as saying: "We will take stern action against the Tibetans if they dare to stage anti-China demonstrations [this week]." ("Security beefed up for 51st Tibetan uprising anniversary," March 8, 2010.)
The Nepalese government has adopted a hard line against expressions of Tibetan identity in Nepal, despite strong cultural and religious ties among the Himalayan peoples that have existed for centuries. Long-staying Tibetan refugees in Kathmandu and in settlements close to the Tibet-Nepal border are increasingly fearful as the Nepalese government relinquishes its historic and sovereign interests in response to incentivized political pressure from Beijing and its Nepalese sympathizers.
Mary Beth Markey, Vice President of Advocacy of the International Campaign for Tibet, said: "These disturbing developments deserve an immediate response by the international community. Nepalís political leadership is betting that the internal benefits of assuaging China in the cause of oppressing Tibetans will be greater than the costs of abandoning principles rooted in the law and grounded in historic ties between the Himalayan peoples. While long-staying and transiting Tibetan refugees bear the brunt of this approach, bending to China on fundamental freedoms and the rule of law presents a real risk to the Nepalese people and their democratic institutions."
Over the past two years, ICT has documented the following evidence of Nepalís shift towards China on Tibetan issues:

• A change in the use of language by Nepalese authorities to describe the Tibetan refugee flow through their country, suggesting a 'law and order' approach rather than the humanitarian approach that had characterized Nepalís treatment of Tibetans over the last decades.
• Continuing harassment and extortion of long-staying Tibetan refugees in Nepal, contributing to a widespread sense of fear and insecurity.
• Cancellation of peaceful expressions of Tibetan identity, such as the celebration of the Dalai Lama's birthday.
• Pre-emptive arrests of Tibetans, ID checks and house searches.
• Large-scale police deployment in Tibetan communities.
• The harassment of Nepalese journalists for attempting to report on police actions in Tibetan communities, and a plethora of hostile articles in the Nepalese media alleging 'Free Tibet' conspiracies.
• A growing presence of organizations sympathetic to the Chinese government position, both secular and religious, some popularly assumed to have links with the Chinese Embassy.

• The resistance of the Nepalese government to provide durable solutions for certain long-staying Tibetan refugees in Nepal, either by regularizing their legal status or allowing their resettlement to the United States through a refugees admission program proposed by the U.S. Government beginning in 2005.
  A pattern of hostile coverage in the Nepalese media of the Tibetan community and their supporters.

That was quick!

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi hinted that the dispute arisen out of the White House meeting between President Obama and the Dalai-Lama may be something of the past. Washington will be forgiven.
In the case of President Sarkozy of France, Beijing's anger took months to subside. Sarkozy had dared to meet the Tibetan leader in Warsaw (Poland) against Beijing's 'advice'.
This is the difference between a 'big' country and a 'small' one and of course, it depends on the current 'national interests' of the PRC.
  
China Hints at Resolution of Sino-US Disputes
VOA
Peter Simpson
Beijing 07 March 2010
China's foreign minister says Beijing and the United States should move past recent disputes and work together to get relations back on track.  The foreign minister's comments came on the sidelines of the annual session of parliament.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi appeared to signal Sunday that a small, but significant, thaw in the frosty relations between Beijing and Washington has begun.
During a lengthy news conference at the on-going National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, he invited the United States to work with China to put recent differences behind them.
He says the United States should work with the Chinese in a joint effort to return the China-U.S. relationship to a track of stable development. And he says Beijing hopes the United States will agree to overcome the differences.
Beijing and Washington have been at odds over a number of issues.  Among them are U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, the White House welcome for Tibet's exiled leader, the Dali Lama, Chinese cyber-spying and trade issues.
Yang's call for a resolution came amid a repeat of the hostile rhetoric by Beijing in recent weeks.
He reiterated Beijing's claim the United States had caused the strained ties, saying China's core interests had been ignored.  China's foreign policy has caused international anger recently, including Beijing's rigid stance on climate change and emissions cuts.
Beijing's trade policies have also caused friction.  China has refused to adjust the value of its currency, the yuan, which has been frozen at just under $7 since mid-2008.  This has allowed Beijing to preserve the international competitiveness of its exports.
Europe and the United States claim this creates unfair trade balances and have called on Beijing to loosen the yuan.  China's central bank released a statement to NPC delegates Saturday pledging to keep the country's currency stable throughout 2010.
Beijing has said it believes a change in its exchange rate will lead to a slowdown in economic growth and mass unemployment, threatening social stability.
Chinese exports plunged by 16 percent last year. China's Commerce Minister, Chen Deming, says it could take up to three years for the country's exports to reach pre-global financial crisis levels.

Is the Panchen Lama in Tibet?

 
If it is true it is good news. But it seems rather strange that he can live in Tibet without being recognized.

China says missing Panchen Lama Gendun Choekyi Nyima is living in Tibet
The Times 
March 8, 2010
Jane Macartney, Beijing 
China shed a glimmer of light yesterday on the life of a young Tibetan man who vanished 15 years ago after the Dalai Lama declared him to be the reincarnation of the second-highest monk in Tibetan Buddhism.
The son of a Tibetan herder, Gendun Choekyi Nyima was only 5 when he was selected by the exiled Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama. Police swooped on the boy’s village in a county to the north of Lhasa and, pro-Tibet exiles say, removed the child and his parents.
He has not been seen or heard from since. But Tibet’s new governor, Padma Choling, revealed yesterday that the young man, now 20, is still living in Tibet, where “his brothers and sisters are at university or are doing regular work”.
He gave no hint as to the family’s whereabouts but repeated the Communist Party’s mantra: “As far as I know, his family and he are now living a very good life in Tibet. He and his family are reluctant to be disturbed. They want to live an ordinary life.”
The information amounts to a revelation compared with the secrecy that has surrounded the life of Gendun for the 15 years since he vanished and was described by human rights groups as the youngest political prisoner in the world.
The exiled Dalai Lama announced in 1995 that he had found Gendun and the move enraged Beijing: the Dalai Lama is revered by Tibetans and his decision was certain to win widespread respect.
The Chinese Government retaliated by naming its own Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, while Gendun is known only from a photograph of a wide-eyed five-year-old with ruddy cheeks, his mouth open in surprise at the camera.
Gyaltsen, also 20, gained a higher profile than ever at the parliament session that opened in Beijing last week. He was appointed to a senior position on the main government advisory body.
State media prominently displayed photographs of the young monk in his robes receiving Tibetan delegates who bowed before him.
However, Beijing has had difficulty winning over Tibetans to its choice and most temples display only photographs of his predecessor, who died of a heart attack at his monastery in Xigaze in 1989.
Robert Barnett, a Tibet expert at Columbia University, said: “Certainly it is almost impossible to find any sign in Tibet or among Tibetans of a view that he is the Panchen Lama. The government effort to persuade people to accept him shows no sign of having worked at all.”
The governor of Tibet seemed happy to wait out the Dalai Lama when it comes to his own reincarnation. He offered a view almost certainly shared by the Politburo. “At this moment the Dalai is still alive, let’s wait until he is dead and then we can talk about it.”

Orphans in this World

I have rewritten this old article.



“Yes, we can” was the mantra coined by Candidate Obama to win the hearts of the Americans during his presidential campaign.
A year later, one could just say: “Yes, he could have”. This is true not only for his internal policies, but also for his stand on Af-Pak, India and China.
One more demonstration came when he met the Dalai Lama in the White House. A few days after the ‘historic’ meeting, a photo appeared on the Internet. It was taken by an AFP photographer and was apparently released by the White House. One sees a smiling Dalai Lama coming out from what is said to be the kitchen door of the White House, with sacks of garbage on the side. A pro-Tibetan group based in India commented, “Orphans of the Cold War!”
Today Tibetans are certainly ‘orphans’: even nations and leaders who pretend to stand for human rights, democracy or free speech are panicky about China’s new might. As a result, these countries only pay lip service to human values.
(Some even get nervous before the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry has started opining his mouth. This is the case of Thailand which refused to grant visa to Jetsun Pema, the Dalai Lama’s sister who was to take part in a Tibetan cultural event hosted at Bangkok Art and Culture Center).
To come back to Obama, even if he had planned for a low-key encounter, he should have given a decent exit to the Dalai Lama. Sadly, the most powerful nation of the world chooses today to bow to the economic rise of the Middle Kingdom.
Will the meeting have positive results for the Tibetans? I am not sure. Several friends told me that it is better to meet the US President than not to meet him; they are probably right, however, at the same time, I don’t think one can expect miracles from the Dalai Lama’s Washington visit.
Most of the media covering the event emphasised President Obama’s courage: He dared to defy Chinese anger (or diktats?) to meet the Tibetan leader. Well, it is probably the minimum that the new Nobel Laureate could do. How could he refuse to receive the Tibetan leader when his predecessors have met him?
The Chinese Government had as usual asked Washington to cancel the meeting which would ‘damage’ Sino-American relations. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu declared: “China resolutely opposes the visit by the Dalai Lama to the United States, and resolutely opposes US leaders having contact with the Dalai Lama.”
After the discreet meeting in the Map Room of the White House where American Presidents usually stage hush-hush meeting, the Obama Administration said it was just a ‘private call’. The White House spokesman, Robert Gibb nevertheless declared that the President supported “the preservation of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in China”, it is not clear how the US will practically translate this on the ground for the Tibetans.
The meeting was certainly good for President Obama’s image since his popularity is tumbling fast (mainly due to domestic policies and his position on Afghanistan). A recent survey pointed that about 52 per cent Americans believe that Obama does not deserve a second term in office. In another CNN opinion poll, released on the eve of the meeting in the Map Room, nearly three-quarters of the Americans said that Tibet should be an independent country, (ironically, the Dalai Lama does not ask for independence anymore!).
The Americans’ strong feeling was an important factor in the decision by the Obama Administration to brave Beijing’s ire. But what will it bring to the Tibetans? The Chinese leaders today are too arrogant to listen to anything coming out of Washington. In fact, they strongly resent any advice from the West. Moreover, the US is deep in debt. What can a country with such a huge debt towards China impose on the Rising Dragon?
The Tibetan issue is extremely complex and the present leadership in Beijing does not possess the courage (and the charisma) to take the plunge and offer a genuine solution acceptable to the Tibetan people. This is a pity because the Dalai Lama is the only person who could help sort out the present contradictions of China. It is, however, true that a genuine solution would bring about tremendous changes inside China and perhaps the collapse of the present system under a totalitarian Communist regime.

Another aspect
An event which took place in north-eastern Tibet (outside the Tibetan Autonomous Region) showed another aspect of the problem. Thousands of Tibetans demonstrated in Ngaba County of Amdo Province. It was not like in March 2008 to express their anger against the Chinese, but to show their joy at the news of the Washington meeting; their leader had met the most powerful man in the world.
The website Phayul.com reported: “The mournful atmosphere of the Tibetan New Year was replaced by jubilation with people bursting firecrackers in the streets and celebrating.” Crowds from nearby villages gathered near Ngaba Kirti monastery for a purification ritual; they burned incense and erected wind-horse prayer flags.
Thousands marched in the streets and shouted “ki ki so so lha gyalo” (victory to the gods) while throwing tsampa (barley flour) in the air. The Chinese security forces did not know how to react to the incense-burning. The Chinese police eventually confiscated the firecrackers from the Tibetans and extinguished the ritual fires.
Fifty years after the Dalai Lama took refuge in India, the Chinese still do not know how to counter the fact that the masses on the Roof of the World are proud of their Tibetan identity.
Interestingly, the March/April 2008 unrest in Tibet (when I say ‘Tibet’, I mean the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) and all the regions which have traditionally and historically been part of Tibet) has forced the leadership in Beijing to rethink its position on Tibet. One of the outcomes is that they seem to have changed their stance on the geographical definition of Roof of the World.
China Tibet Information Center website reported that the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Chinese (CPPCC) Chairman Jia Qinglin affirmed that the CPPCC “will conscientiously implement the guiding principles of the central leadership's Fifth Forum on Tibet Work, and strive to achieve a leapfrog development and lasting stability in Tibet and Tibetan ethnic areas in Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces.”
He was delivering a report on the work of the CPPCC National Committee's Standing Committee over the past year.
This could be considered as a great change in Beijing's policy towards Tibet. The leadership always said that the Dalai Lama is a splittist because he speaks of a 'Greater Tibet'. Now they themselves admit the existence of "Tibetan ethnic areas in Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces". Where is the difference? Is it a step forward in the talks? Not sure.
A few days earlier, former Chinese Foreign Minister, Li Zhaoxing declared "Why did the Dalai Lama propose a 'Greater Tibet' and keep the 'government-in-exile' with a so-called constitution while claiming he is not in support of 'Tibet independence'?", thereby linking ‘Greater Tibet’ to Independence.
What the 2008 unrest demonstrated? The resentment has been the same in all the three traditional provinces of Tibet, whether they are today administrated by the TAR, Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu or Qinghai provinces. There is only one Tibetan identity on the plateau. The regime in Beijing has apparently grasped this basic fact.

A tactical move?
At the same time, Beijing is so desperate to win over the Tibetans, that they initiated a new 'tactical move' which may soon become counterproductive; they appointed ‘their’ Panchen Lama as a member of the CPPCC.
As reported by The Independent in London: “The 20-year-old Panchen Lama, whose name is Gyaltsen Norbu, has long been earmarked as Beijing's choice to usurp the Dalai Lama as the public face of Tibetan Buddhism. He has taken an increasingly political role and was in the frame a couple of years ago to be a delegate to the CPPCC but was thought to be too young. The Panchen Lama was among 13 people named to the CPPCC, made up of about 2,200 business leaders, religious figures, academics and celebrities. The young monk has appeared with Communist Party leaders, publicly praised Chinese rule in Tibet, and vowed to contribute to the blueprint of the compatible development of Tibetan Buddhism and socialism".
Anointing a puppet Panchen Lama can only create more resentment among the Tibetan masses. It is however true that the leadership long ago forgotten the meaning of ‘masses’. Should India send some of her politicians to teach the Communist leaders in Beijing the concept of aam aadmi?
The appointment of Beijing’s Panchen Lama will certainly not help solving the Tibetan issue. Tibetans are no fools. If Beijing had freed the genuine Panchen Lama (under house arrest for the past 15 years), it may have gone a long way to convince the 'masses' that the Chinese government is sincere in its approach towards the Tibetans. It has not been the case.

Tibetan Culture still a living culture
The day after President Obama met the Dalai Lama, I happened to attend a dance performance by a group of Tibetan students who were perhaps 13 to 14 years old; they were not professional dancers, just students who, during their holidays, had learned some steps and songs. But they were really good. Their eagerness to preserve their ancient culture was quite touching. Interestingly, most of the youngsters were born in Tibet and had only come recently to India to learn about their own tradition.
I believe this is one of the greatest achievements of the Dalai Lama: the culture of the Roof of the World is still very much alive in India. The preservation of the age-old culture will certainly one day make a difference. In the meantime, if you visit China, do a Google search for Tibet — you will get a blank screen.
Let us hope that President Obama will do something to at least change this.
The day China will be an open society, half of the Dalai Lama’s (and China’s) problem will be solved.

A Change of Policy?

China Tibet Information Center reported a small fall in Dechen (Yunnan province)

For the first time, I noticed a separate section for Tibetan-Inhabited Areas in the China Tibet Information Center's website. 
A positive change of policy? 
Is it a step forward to accept the Dalai Lama's contention that all these areas are 'Tibetan'? 
As reported in my previous postings, Premier Wen Jiabao and Chairman Jia Qinglin also mentioned in their speeches the "Tibetan ethnic areas in Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces".

Strike Hard and Carrots

"China will draw up policies this year to boost the development in Xinjiang and Tibet as well as other Tibetan-inhabited areas", said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in his government work report to the annual session of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature.
"We will focus on formulating and implementing policies for economic and social development in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Tibetan ethnic areas in Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces."
At the same time, the Strike Hard campaign is going on full swing in Tibet. With the blessing of the Beijing's Panchen Lama! First the Stick and then a small Carrot.


China detains hundreds of Tibetans in Lhasa under “Strike Hard Campaign”
5 March 2010
TCHRD
Security forces checking ID during the Strik-Hard Campaign 
With the launch of “Strike Hard” Campaign in the “Tibet Autonomous Region” (‘TAR’) from 2nd March, the Chinese security forces had detained nearly 500 Tibetans alone from Lhasa city alone, according to reports given in the state run web portal.
According to the official report dated 4 March 2010 given in the state run web portal www.chinatibet.com, “during the campaign, the Lhasa City Public Security Bureau Police Brigade (Ch: Lasa Gong An Ju Xing Jing Zhi Dui) raided a total of 4,115 rented accommodations, thoroughly checked 60 high prone areas where crime is concentrated, gathering areas for floating population, places with complex social order and iniquity, carried out comprehensive checks on a total of 7,347 non-permanent residents of the city, raided more than 70 guest houses, internet cafes, entertainment centre and bars; and detained a total of 435 people. Of these 7 were arrested on theft and burglary, 3 persons on stealing motor bikes, 1 person for duping, 3 others suspected burglary accomplices.” There is no detail information or reasons were given on the remaining people who were arbitrarily detained during the “strike hard” campaign launched since 2 March 2010.
The same web news portal dated 5 March carried a report on the “Strike Hard” campaign stating, “the Lhasa City PSB headquarters had mobilized 1,134 of its personnel and more than other 300 security forces raiding in total 2,787 rented accommodations; 21 high prone areas; 71 Karaoke bars, guest houses, internet cafes, bars; confiscated 12 knives and 6 banned publications and detained 49 suspects without “three no” (Ch: San Wu)” The latter refers to Identity card, household registration card (Ch: Hukou) and Temporary stay permit (Ch: Zian Zhu Zheng). The report also said that a nun was detained but no detail was given.
According to our sources, in the past few days the movement of monks from three major monasteries in and around Lhasa city: Drepung, Gaden and Sera were restricted for indefinite period, however, the monasteries’ staffs dealing with food supplies to these monasteries were known to have been issued special permit by the authorities for their daily duties.
To spur up further restriction and crackdown on potential dissent ahead of sensitive anniversary, Lhasa Neighborhood Committee under the Lhasa Metropolitan area had formed a new “security escort staff ” in each and every sub-districts since 1 March. This new body will work in conjunction with the local public security officials. The primary objective of this new body was cited as “to maintain social order, thorough inspection and tracking down of suspects, and detaining those without “three no” viz. Identity card, household registration card (Ch: Hukou) and Temporary stay permit and prompt reporting of such cases to the local police station. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) believe that this new requirement signals authorities’ attempt to target and stranglehold those Tibetans from outside “TAR” who are on visit to the holy city for pilgrimage or engaged in businesses as many of those Tibetans were known to be actively involved in the Spring 2008 protests in Lhasa.
TCHRD condemns this campaign in strongest terms and calls the government of the People’s Republic of China to immediately end this infamous campaign which under the guise of fighting crimes and upholding stability violates and abuses many fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people through arbitrary arrest, detention, interrogation, restriction on the free movement of people. TCHRD believes that the Chinese authorities are using this campaign as double-edged sword to fight crimes and uphold stability as stated objective but at the same time it is using this campaign to silence, intimidate and stifle political dissent ahead of sensitive anniversary.

China admits the existence of 'Greater Tibet'?

This could be a great change in Beijing's policy towards Tibet. The leadership always said that the Dalai Lama is a splittist because he speaks of a 'Greater Tibet'. Now they themselves admit the existence of "Tibetan ethnic areas in Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces". 
Where is the difference? 
The so-called Greater Tibet (or historic Tibet) comprises these areas today incorporated in Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces.
Is it a step forward in the talks? Not sure. 
A few days ago, former Chinese Foreign Minister, Li Zhaoxing declared "Why did the Dalai Lama propose a 'Greater Tibet' and keep the 'government-in-exile' with a so-called constitution while claiming he is not in support of 'Tibet independence'?", thereby linking Greater Tibet to Independence.


Jia Qinglin: CPPCC will strive to achieve leapfrog development in Tibet
March 04, 2010 
Source:China Tibet Information Center
CPPCC National Committee Chairman Jia Qinglin said the CPPCC will conscientiously implement the guiding principles of the central leadership's Fifth Forum on Tibet Work, and strive to achieve a leapfrog development and lasting stability in Tibet and Tibetan ethnic areas in Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces.
Jia said at the Third Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) held in Beijing Wednesday when delivering a report on the work of the CPPCC National Committee's Standing Committee over the past year.
Jia said the CPPCC earnestly implemented the Party's ethnic and religious policies, and energetically promoted ethnic unity and religious harmony over the past year.

Ladakh roads stopped due to absence of approval

Amazing news! The Central government (SM Krishna) does not have the Central government's permission to built roads in Ladakh!!!
It is probably why the Chinese government reduced its defense spendings. The PLA are so far ahead in infrastructure development (compared to India) that they have decided to relax for a time.

Ladakh road project halted due to absence of approval: SM Krishna
PTI March 4, 2010
New Delhi: The government today said the construction of a road in Ladakh region under NREGA was halted because it did not have the Centre's approval.
"Such construction in the proximity of the International Boundary (IB) or in the proximity of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) cannot be undertaken without approvals from the Central government.
"In the absence of such approvals, work on the NREGA road in Ladakh was halted," external affairs minister SM Krishna told the Rajya Sabha in reply to a written question.
Krishna also said the government was aware that China was developing the infrastructure in the border regions in Tibet and Xinjiang Autonomous Regions.
This includes the Qinghai-Tibet Railway line, with proposed extension up to Xigaze and Nyingchi, and development of road and airport facilities, he said.
"The government keeps a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on India's security and takes all necessary measures to safeguard it," Krishna said.
He said government was also giving careful and special attention to the development of infrastructure in the border areas opposite China, in order to meet our strategic and security requirements and also to facilitate the economic development of these areas. This includes Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

Towards Chaos?

On the brink of revolutionary turmoil
A few months back Dr. Manmohan Singh stated in Washington: “Well, I have no hesitation in saying that I think development in India cannot be a carbon copy of what happens in China. And the Chinese system is very different.” Just as well, one could say!
If one analyses the future of the two countries, one sees that India and China have chosen different paths and today their destinies seem to go in opposite directions.
Democracy, with its many vicissitudes, is a far safer tool of governance than the one-Party regime presently prevalent in the Middle Kingdom.
An interesting article, entitled China insider sees revolution brewing written by John Garnaut, appeared recently in The Guardian: “China's top expert on social unrest has warned that hardline security policies are taking the country to the brink of revolutionary turmoil”, it said.
Though one has to acknowledge that the Party unique has been able to 'mutate' remarkably since the 1980's, there is no doubt that a revolution is brewing.
What is new in China today is the fact that semi-official voices from inside the Party are speaking out; these are not the voices of dissidents or human rights activists, but of people like Professor Yu Jianrong, the Director of Social Issues Research at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Rural Affairs. Prof. Yu is a top advisor of the Chinese government. Conducting surveys and interviewing hundreds of stakeholders, he has gone into the alarming situation in great depth.
In a speech in December, Yu said that he believes that “the deepening social fractures were caused by the Communist Party's obsession with preserving its monopoly on power through state violence and ideology.”
Earlier, he had mentioned several demonstrations which occurred in China in 2008: “Among these incidents, three have special significance: a clash between rubber farmers and police in Yunnan’s Menglian county, protests following the death of a student in Guizhou’s Wengan county, and outrage over a business-loan insolvency in Hunan’s Jishou City.” He further elaborated: “The Menglian county incident began with farmers trying to defend their rights and later developed into a violent confrontation between police and 500 rubber farmers. Before it was over, 41 police officers were injured and nine police vehicles were smashed; two rubber farmers were killed and many injured. The trouble began when the farmers complained that their land rights were being abused by the local rubber company. …the farmers rose up to defend their rights, and the local government used police to suppress them.”
Prof Yu cites statistics: recorded incidents of ‘mass unrest’ grew from 8709 in 1993 to more than 90,000 in each of the past three years: “More and more evidence shows that the situation is getting more and more tense, more and more serious”, commented Yu.
According to Yu, the type of incidents cited above “currently account for over 80 % of all Chinese mass protests. They are generally triggered when workers, farmers or city residents who have a weak position in society decide to fight back against more powerful social groups infringing on their legal interests.”
Interestingly, protesters are well informed about the law and use existing regulations as the framework for their actions. They are law abiding citizens, not rogue elements of society or persons having grudges against the Party.
Prof Yu, being part of the system, has a nice formula: “Disaster could be averted only if ‘interest groups’ were capable of making a rational compromise to subordinate themselves to the constitution”.
Unfortunately, from Deng Xiaoping's days, the sole objective of these ‘interest groups’ (the different factions or cliques within the Party) has been to remain in power.
What complicates the matter is that President Hu Jintao and colleagues are stuck between their 'strike hard' and 'stabilizing' campaigns. Hu’s slogans are bu zheteng (‘stability’ and ‘harmonious society’).
Many predict that this ‘forced’ stability can only bring social disaster. Yu believes that “for seeking bu zheteng, we sacrifice reform and people's rights endowed by law.”
A few years ago, Yu Jianrong had written an essay titled Social Conflict in Rural China. His main thesis was that social conflict is taboo in Chinese political circles, because of the ‘overriding need for stability’ to have ‘a harmonious society’. He conclusions were: “Rather than attempting to understand and address the roots of these conflicts, Chinese leaders are more inclined to suppress them in order to keep them out of the public eye. This mentality and practice not only works to aggravate conflict, but also diminishes the legitimacy of the rulers”.
Nicholas Bequelin, a research scholar at Human Rights Watch, explained in an article in The Far-Eastern Economic Review: “Two decades of breakneck economic growth, a policy of openness to the outside world, particularly on business, and continued domestic political control have strengthened the rule of the Chinese Communist Party beyond all expectations.”
The Communist leadership understood that the system needed to be reformed in the reverse order from the Soviet Union; economic reforms first, political later; Bequelin added: “In fact political reforms were actually never on the agenda. …By following this principle, the CCP has become what could be best described as the first Darwinian Leninist Party in history, one that sees constant adaptation as the key to survival.”
Surprisingly, some of the reforms introduced by the Party seem to undermine its own rule; but caught in a vicious circle, there are introduced as security valves to save the Party from what the Emperors dreaded the most: chaos (the loss of their divine Mandate).
The main question facing China today remains: is the Party flexible enough to survive new changes; or will the extent of the Party’s forced ‘reforms’ be ultimately the Party’s destroyer. Internet is a case in point.
A recent exampleof  how the Party reacts to a challenge (in this case the Tibetan unrest) is the appointment of Gyaltsen Norbu, the CCP-chosen Panchen Lama as a delegate to the top legislative advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Beijing is today so desperate to win over the Tibetans while projecting its own Lama as a possible successor of the Dalai Lama, that they anointed this young Lama. But this tactical move can only create more resentment among the Tibetan masses. The Chinese leadership seems to have lost contact with the masses, the local ‘common man’.
Had Beijing freed the genuine Panchen Lama (under house arrest for the past 15 years), it may have gone a long way to convince the 'masses' that the Chinese government was sincere in its approach towards the Tibetan ‘nationality’. It has not been the case.
What Mr. Hu does not realize is that a ‘harmonious society’ has to grow from within, it can't be imposed by force from outside. The human spirit is the same on each continent, for each nation or individual; it craves more and more freedom. Intrinsically, the Party is not able to provide this freedom, being built on a totalitarian foundation. Will Emperors in Beijing listen to Prof. Yu Jianrong?
The Indian Prime Minister was right when he said: 'We are a functioning democracy — Democracy is slow-moving — I always believed that it may be slow-moving in the short term, but in the long run, an arrangement which has the backing of the people at large will prove to be more durable.”

Tibetans lack political backing and China is unbending

The second part of review of my book on the Negotiations that never were, written by Madhuri Sondhi appeared in The Organiser. Click and read.

China’s Weakness: The Tibetan and Uygur 'Nationalities' Areas

A long article on Tibet and Xinjiang China’s Weakness: The Tibetan and Uygur 'Nationalities' Areas has been published in the PENTAGON’S SOUTH ASIA DEFENCE AND STRATEGIC YEAR BOOK 2010. I have posted it on my website.
Click here.

A tactical move?

Beijing is so desperate to win over the Tibetans, that they have again made a 'tactical move' which may soon become counterproductive. Anointing a fake Panchen Lama can only create more resentment among the Tibetan masses. But a long time ago, the leadership lost  the notion of what are masses. India should send some of its politicians to teach the Communist leaders in Beijing the concept of 'aam aadmi'. 
This Panchen Lama's new appointment will certainly not help solving the Tibetan issue. Tibetans are not fools. If Beijing had freed the genuine Panchen Lama (under house arrest for the past 15 years), it may have gone a long way to convince the 'masses' that the Chinese government is sincere in its approach towards the Tibetans. It has not been the case.
 
China appoints Panchen Lama in tactical move to quell unrest
Young monk will take increasingly political role in country's highest legal body
The Independent
2 March 2010
By Clifford Coonan in Beijing
The red stars and bunting are in place for China's annual parliament, the National People's Congress, which starts in Beijing's Great Hall of the People tomorrow and had been shaping up to be a rubberstamp talking shop focused mainly on the economy.
However, the event has taken on a broader political significance since Beijing named the Panchen Lama, the young man controversially enthroned by Beijing as the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, as a delegate to the country's top legislative advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
The publication of a report by a top government expert critical of Beijing's handling of growing unrest has also added to the feeling that this year's NPC might include a surprise or, at least, indications of growing tensions.
The 20-year-old Panchen Lama, whose name is Gyaltsen Norbu, has long been earmarked as Beijing's choice to usurp the Dalai Lama as the public face of Tibetan Buddhism. He has taken an increasingly political role and was in the frame a couple of years ago to be a delegate to the CPPCC but was thought to be too young. The Panchen Lama was among 13 people named on Sunday to the CPPCC, made up of about 2,200 business leaders, religious figures, academics and celebrities. The young monk has appeared with Communist Party leaders, publicly praised Chinese rule in Tibet, and vowed to contribute to "the blueprint of the compatible development of Tibetan Buddhism and socialism".
Last month he was voted vice-president of the nation's Buddhist Association, and the Xinhua news agency reported how he promised to "uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China" and "adhere to socialism, safeguard national unification, strengthen ethnic unity and expand Buddhist exchanges".
Comments like these have made the Panchen Lama a controversial figure, not widely accepted by Tibetans. Another boy, Gendun Choekyi Nyima, was named as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama by the Dalai Lama in 1995. The boy and his family disappeared soon after and have not been heard from since, and are believed to be under house arrest in Beijing.
China says that Tibet is, was and always has been part of its territory for centuries, although many Tibetans dispute this. Chinese troops occupied Tibet following the 1949 communist revolution, sending the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, into exile in India in 1959 after a failed coup against Chinese rule.
The Communist government in Beijing considers the Dalai Lama to be a dangerous separatist. The Dalai Lama says he merely seeks greater autonomy.
The NPC comes two years after demonstrations against Chinese rule across parts of the Tibetan autonomous region and in neighbouring provinces. Violent protests in March 2008 in the Tibetan capital Lhasa against Han Chinese settlers, left 22 dead, according to the government. Tibetan rights groups say the figure was far higher. Officials blamed protest activity across the plateau on separatists loyal to the Dalai Lama.
China has about 100 million Buddhists and around 16,000 temples. Buddhism is seen as less of a threat than other religions as it is not centrally organised and has its roots in Chinese culture.
Delegates were arriving at the airport and train stations for the event, many of them wearing national dress or military uniform. Nearly three quarters of the delegates of the NPC, China's ceremonial legislature, are members of the ruling Communist Party, with the remainder coming from the military or other branches of government. All delegates are approved by the ruling powers.
This year the NPC was expected to be a dry affair, with the focus on China's economy in the face of challenges from rising property prices and inflation. Proposals are usually greeted by lengthy applause and normally receive unanimous approval. While there have been one or two surprises, any deviations from the Party line happen behind closed doors.
However, on this occasion the NPC could throw up some surprises. China-watchers have been closely reading the text of a recent speech by Dr Yu Jianrong, China's top expert on social unrest, which appears to warn that hardline security policies are taking the country to the brink of "fundamental revolutionary turmoil" because the Communist Party's was obsessed with holding on to its power monopoly.
The security forces will also carry out their annual crackdown on all forms of dissent, with particular attention being paid to the petitioners who come to the capital to air their grievances. Fearful of unrest, for a number of years anyone with a petition for the government has been kept far from Tiananmen Square, where the NPC takes place.
"The NPC is a big public show," said Cheng Li, a China-watcher at the Brookings Institution, the Washington think-tank.

How Chinese hacked Google, and why India should worry

My interview with Shishir Nagaraja of Illinois University on the Google episode, the Chinese hackers in the Dalai Lama's server and other hot cybertopics is posted as a beautiful slideshow on Rediff.com.
Click here and enjoy.

Revolution Brewing

No doubt that Revolution is brewing; though one has to acknowledge that the Party unique has been able to remarkably 'adapt' (or 'mutate') since the beginning of the 1980's. 
From Deng Xiaoping's days, the only objective of the Party was to remain in power. Some analysts called the CCP, a Darwinian Party, because of the extraordinary adaptivity of its leadership. But today Mr. Hu and colleagues seem stuck in 'strike hard' and other 'stabilizing' campaigns. 
What Mr. Hu does not realize that a Harmonious society has to grow from inside, it can't be imposed from outside.
Human spirit is the same on each continent, for each nation or individual; it craves for more and more freedom. Intrinsically, the Party is not able to provide this freedom, being built on a totalitarian foundation. Will the Emperors (today we have a 'collective' emperorship) in Beijing listen to Prof. Yu Jianrong? They can't!

China insider sees revolution brewing
JOHN GARNAUT
The Guardian
February 27, 2010
Mass unrest … Uighur women surround a Chinese riot policeman during protests in Urumchi, the capital of Xinjiang province, last July.
BEIJING: China's top expert on social unrest has warned that hardline security policies are taking the country to the brink of ''revolutionary turmoil''.
In contrast with the powerful, assertive and united China that is being projected to the outside world, Yu Jianrong said his prediction of looming internal disaster reflected on-the-ground surveys and also the views of Chinese government ministers.
Deepening social fractures were caused by the Communist Party's obsession with preserving its monopoly on power through ''state violence'' and ''ideology'', rather than justice, Professor Yu said.
Disaster could be averted only if ''interest groups'' - which he did not identify - were capable of making a rational compromise to subordinate themselves to the constitution, he said.
Some lawyers, economists and religious and civil society leaders have expressed similar views but it is unusual for someone with Professor Yu's official standing to make such direct and detailed criticisms of core Communist Party policies.
Professor Yu is known as an outspoken insider. As the director of social issues research at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Rural Affairs he advises top leaders and conducts surveys on social unrest.
He previously has warned of the rising cost of imposing ''rigid stability'' by force but has not previously been reported as speaking about such immediate dangers.
''Some in the so-called democracy movement regard Yu as an agent for the party, because he advises senior leaders on how to maintain their control,'' said Feng Chongyi, associate professor in China Studies at the University of Technology, Sydney.
''I believe Yu is an independent scholar. This speech is very significant because it is the first time Yu has directly confronted the Hu-Wen leadership [President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao] and said their policies have failed and will not work.''
Pointedly, Professor Yu took aim at the policy substance behind two of Mr Hu's trademark phrases, ''bu zheteng'' [''stability'', or ''don't rock the boat''] and ''harmonious society''.
His speech was delivered on December 26, the day after the rights activist Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years in jail for helping to draft a manifesto for constitutional and democratic government in China, called Charter '08.
The sentence, which shocked liberal intellectuals and international observers, followed a tumultuous year during which the party tightened controls over almost all spheres of China's burgeoning civil society, including the internet, media, legal profession, non-government organisations and business.
Professor Yu's speech has not been previously reported but has recently emerged on Chinese websites.
He cited statistics showing the number of recorded incidents of ''mass unrest'' grew from 8709 in 1993 to more than 90,000 in each of the past three years.
''More and more evidence shows that the situation is getting more and more tense, more and more serious,'' Professor Yu said.
He cited a growing range and severity of urban worker disputes and said Mafia groups were increasingly involved in state-sponsored thuggery while disgruntled peasants were directing blame at provincial and even central government.
''For seeking 'bu zheteng' we sacrifice reform and people's rights endowed by law … Such stability will definitely bring great social disaster,'' he said.
Professor Yu's speech reflects deep disillusionment among liberal thinkers in China who had hoped Mr Hu and Mr Wen would implement political reforms.
Dr Feng said he still hoped the two would ''do something'' to leave more than a ''dark stain'' on China's political development before stepping down in 2012.
''The conservative forces are currently very strong,'' he said. China's security-tightening and potential for future loosening were linked to a leadership succession struggle between Mr Hu and the Vice-Premier, Li Keqiang, on the one hand, and the former president, Jiang Zemin, and the current Vice-President, Xi Jinping, on the other.
''I haven't given up the hope that the Hu-Li camp may make some positive political changes to mobilise public support.'' .
The latest edition of the newspaper Southern Weekend broke a two-decade taboo by publishing a photo of a youthful Mr Hu with his early mentor, former party chief Hu Yaobang, who was purged in 1987 for his liberal and reformist leanings. But Chinese internet search results for the names of both leaders were yesterday blocked for ''non-compliance with relevant laws''.
A Beijing political watcher said such crackdowns were being led by officials who had the most to hide, which did not include Mr Hu or his allies.
''Corrupt officials have such a high and urgent interest in controlling the media and especially the internet,'' he said. ''The more they feel that their days are numbered due to the internet and free information, the more ferocious and corrupt they become, in a really vicious circle leading to final collapse.''

China may be hiding US Treasury bonds

"Some say the massive holdings by China have implications for US national security, making it harder for Washington to carry out policies in conflict with Beijing".
It is one of the reasons why the Dalai Lama has to leave the White House through the kitchen door. 
The Chinese are backing their future.



China may be hiding US Treasury bonds: experts
P. PARAMESWARAN
The Sydney Morning Post
February 26, 2010
China, a top owner of US government debt, appears to be secretly buying bonds via third locations to hide its importance as a major creditor to Washington, experts told a congressional forum.
They said China-linked entities may be scooping up US bonds in London, Hong Kong or other locations, pointing out that official data almost certainly understates Beijing's US government debt holdings.
Some say the massive holdings by China have implications for US national security, making it harder for Washington to carry out policies in conflict with Beijing.
The latest figures by the Treasury Department this month showed a drop in China's Treasury bond holdings by 34.2 billion US dollars or 4.3 percent to 755.4 billion US dollars in December, the biggest decline in about a decade.
Simon Johnson, a former IMF chief economist, suggested that China could be behind the big jump in Britain's holdings of US debt to 300 billion US dollars in 2009 from 130.9 billion US dollars a year earlier.
He said he was baffled by the figure as Britain had run a substantial current account deficit last year.
"A great deal of this increase may be due to China placing offshore US dollars in London-based banks -- Chinese, UK, or even US -- which then buy US securities," Johnson told a hearing of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which monitors for Congress the security implications of US-China trade and economic relations.
China may also be purchasing US securities through routes other than Britain, said Johnson, who is now a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"The US Treasury data almost certainly understate Chinese holdings of our government debt because they do not reveal the ultimate country of ownership when instruments are held through an intermediary in another jurisdiction," he said.
Johnson said "a reasonable working assumption" showed that China owns close to one trillion US dollars of US Treasury securities -- nearly half of the stock of treasuries in the hands of "foreign official" owners, which was 2.374 trillion US dollars at the end of 2009.
"It is all but certain that some purchases made by agents in Britain and Hong Kong were on behalf of SAFE" or the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the secretive Chinese state agency that buys foreign bonds, said Derek Scissors, an Asia economic policy expert at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation.
He said the more than doubling of Treasury bond purchases by Britain and Hong Kong "makes sense" for China as it had to park its huge chest of foreign exchange reserves.
"These cannot be spent at home and are too large to put anywhere other than the United States. No other country has financial markets capable of absorbing them," Scissors said.
"To hide the unavoidable extent of China's exposure to low-yield American bonds and try to avoid domestic flak, SAFE is routing money through third countries," he said.
China accumulated 453 billion US dollars in additional foreign exchange reserves in 2009, bringing the total reserves to a record 2.399 trillion US dollars at the end of December, latest Chinese government figures showed.
Many analysts argue that any threat by China to shift a large portion of its reserves out of US government paper is just bluster as such a move would impose huge costs on China itself.
But Eswar Prasad, who once headed the IMF's China division, said it was a "reasonably credible threat as the short-term costs to the Chinese of such an action are not likely to be large."
Any dumping of Treasury bonds could lead to a sharp fall in bond prices and the value of the greenback, incurring massive capital losses on the Asian giant owning the large bond holdings.
"But the US leaves itself vulnerable as China might well view these costs as worth bearing in order to preserve its national sovereignty or if trade and other economic disputes with the US came to a head," said Prasad, a professor of trade policy at Cornell University.
Republican congressman Frank Wolf told the panel that the situation is bad for US security.
"China is among our biggest 'bankers,'" he said.
"The implications of US debt to China are many and wide-ranging, encompassing everything from our national security to our ability to advocate for repressed and persecuted people."
© 2010 AFP

About Tibetan Culture

After the last week 'historic' meeting between the Dalai Lama and President Obama, the White House spokesman Robert Gibb stated that the US President supported “the preservation of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity”. 
The Communist leadership in Beijing will tell him: "Well, my friend, it is what we are doing". Everyday, the website of the China Tibet Information Center propagates the myth that China is preserving the culture of the Tibetan people.


Tibetan drama blooms in protection
2010-02-26 
China Tibet Information Center
Tibetan drama is widely loved for centuries by Tibetan people with its strong romantic feature and legendary stories. With efforts from the central government and TAR local government on its protection and development, Tibetan drama blooms in modern society.

TERI green mission has a golf course

I find this absolutely obscene. And this guy get the Nobel Prize for environment. And his TERI associate is part of the Government's team which advocates the 'per capita theory' for the CO2 emissions.
It is too easy to make it that it is 'poor' vs 'rich' like in the cartoon. Who is 'rich'? Who is 'poor'? One point is sure TERI is not poor. Ratan Tata should asked TERI to withdraw the name of 'Tata' from TERI. Their behaviour is  such an insult to Jamshedji or JRD! 


TERI green mission has a golf course
Faizan Haider Gurgaon,
India Today
February 20, 2010
The Energy Research Institute (TERI) is in the thick of another building storm.
The R. K. Pachauri-led not-for-profit organisation's mission is to "work towards global sustainable development, creating innovative solutions for a better tomorrow". However, contrary to its public message, it runs a water guzzling nine-hole golf course in Gual Pahari in Gurgaon built on institutional land thus affecting the city's vulnerable groundwater table and to boot, charges Rs 25,000 as membership fee, something that is considered illegal on institutional land.
Pachauri is also the head of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change, a Nobel Prize-winning organisation that has faced flak from all quarters in the last three months due to dubious research being presented as part of its climate change report submitted to the United Nations. As the IPCC chief he has been asking governments around the world to cut down on carbon emissions and save water, among other things, to sustain the environment.
In Gurgaon, though, TERI's is a completely different story. Here, it runs a five-acre golf course as part of the 69 acres of institutional land it acquired from Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) in 1985 to build a residential training facility for executives called Retreat. Work on the golf course began in 2005.
According to Gurgaon's district town planner Vijender Singh Rana, commercial activity through sports on institutional land is illegal. "HUDA gave this land to TERI for institutional or public and semipublic purpose," Rana said. "Though they have asked for change of land use (CLU) regularly from HUDA, permission cannot be given for any sporting activity. If TERI is selling golf course memberships, it is wrong." Rana said the conditions for use of institutional land were clear.
"If TERI uses it for its own purpose, there is no problem. But it cannot use it commercially and sell golf memberships," he said.
A TERI spokesperson denied it was making commercial use of the course. However, when MAIL TODAY anonymously contacted the course officials, they offered memberships for Rs 25,000.
According to Rajiv Chhibber, manager, corporate communications, TERI, "The recreation facilities at the Retreat were created for TERI employees and visiting scientists, researchers and champions of sustainable development. "The greens have been laid on land in accordance with the zoning plan and around existing natural contours of land. In doing so, TERI has developed and maintained the green cover which has been a part of the overall environmental plan of the campus." But not everyone is satisfied.
According to a Centre for Science and Environment official, maintaining a golf course puts tremendous pressure on the local environment. "The pesticides used to keep the grass green pollute the groundwater and affect nearby water bodies too," he said on condition of anonymity. "Golf courses use fresh water, which is a huge wastage when the groundwater level is already declining."
Experts say an 18-hole golf course can consume up to 1.77 lakh cubic feet of water per day which equals 4.8 million litres. "This amount can sustain 20,000 Indian households," said Jyoti Sharma, president, FORCE, an NGO that works for water conservation. "Such golf courses extract groundwater and have bore wells near the ground. The grass soaks more water due to the pesticides used to maintain the ground's bounce."
According to the WorldWatch Institute, a think tank that monitors global environmental trends, golf courses in the US alone consume 4 billion gallons of water every year (one gallon equals 3.785 litres) to maintain more than 1.7 million acres of golf greens.
Although the TERI golf course is only a nine-hole one, there is seemingly tremendous demand for its membership. Mohinder Singh, an official at the course, told MAIL TODAY over the phone that the wait time at the club is of one year. "Your form will come for review after a year," he said. Singh was unaware that MAIL TODAY was investigating for a story as the call was made by this correspondent posing as a potential club member.
According to the CSE official, "A lot of water is needed especially in Delhi and surrounding areas to maintain the right amount of moisture in a golf course. At the time when groundwater levels are declining for various reasons, the waste of water in golf courses can be avoided." For Gurgaon, the situation is exacerbated because the city is completely dependent on groundwater for survival. Hydrologist S.K. Sherawat said that though golf courses are not the only reason for the city's declining groundwater table, it is a contributor. TERI's Chhibber said the institute is taking great care that the environment is not adversely affected. "The Retreat is managed in a way where nature is continuously preserved," he said.
"No chemical fertilisers or pesticides are used on the campus. Water conservation measures on the campus include an efficient central rainwater harvesting system in accordance with water conservation guidelines such as drip water irrigation, early morning and late evening half circle sprinkling to minimise water evaporation and loss. The water table at present is just 50 ft below the surface which is far higher than many areas in the NCR, where the groundwater levels range between 150 ft to 200 ft."
However, according to a recent report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), the groundwater table of Gurgaon has crossed 40 m (120 ft), which it says is an alarming trend. The CGWB report said the long term water trend shows a rate of decline of 0.8 m/year.

Beijing's obstinate stand on Tibet

A review of my book, the Negotiations that never were appeared in the latest issue of The Organiser. It is written by Madhuri  Santanan Sondhi and entitled Beijing's obstinate stand on Tibet. Click here to read.