The US and Japan are going through a rocky patch but mutual fear of China makes their relationship too precious to wreck
A long-running row about relocating a US Marine Corps base on Okinawa is threatening to boil over, with Yukio Hatoyama, Japan's prime minister, admitting at the weekend that failure to resolve the dispute could force his resignation. Given that his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) swept to a watershed election victory only last August, such an outcome could be deeply embarrassing for the US and deeply resented in Japan.
Financial Times
By Tim Johnston in Hanoi
Published: March 3 2010
More than two decades after doi moi – the “renovation” that opened Vietnam to the outside world – some conservative elements in the Communist party are rattling foreign investors by trying to put the brakes on reform. In a series of recent announcements, government officials have introduced plans for price controls and import restrictions that have drawn foreign investors, who are normally discreet in their criticism of the government, into the open.
BEIJING — On the surface, Amazon.cn resembles its global siblings, selling everything from Harry Potter books to sex toys. But a few searches of what the Web site proclaims is “the world’s largest Chinese online bookstore” reveals limits to this literary universe.
A query for Zhao Ziyang — the former Communist Party leader who was stripped of power for supporting the 1989 democracy demonstration in Tiananmen Square — returns no matches. The Dalai Lama? A list of books that portray him as a dangerous “splittist” or that refer to the Chinese government’s hand-picked spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, who goes by the same title. A search of the words “censorship” and “China” comes back with “censorship” crossed out and three Sino-themed suggestions, including a book called “When China Rules the World.”
At Columbia's commencement last spring, I asked the 12,000
graduates to consider one of the most daunting questions their
generation will face in the increasingly interconnected world they
will inherit: How will they—and we—realize on a global scale the
principles of freedom of speech and press that have defined their
experiences at an American university, where the prerogative to
speak out on any topic and to pursue ideas has been the norm? That
is not an easy question for any of us to answer. Rapid globalization,
driven by the combined forces of expanding free-market economies
and new communications technologies (principally, of course, the
Internet), means that creating a system of free expression of news
and knowledge is no longer only a moral issue of spreading human
rights. It is also a very practical challenge of getting access to the
ideas and information we need to function as a society dealing with
a myriad of border-crossing challenges, including financial
recession and climate change, terrorism and infectious disease.
US experts close in on Google hackers
By Joseph Menn in San Francisco
Published: February 21 2010 23:33 | Last updated: February 21 2010 23:33
US analysts believe they have identified the Chinese author of the critical programming code used in the alleged state-sponsored hacking attacks on Google and other western companies, making it far harder for the Chinese government to deny involvement.
Their discovery came after another team of investigators tracked the launch of the spyware to computers inside two educational institutions in China, one of them with close ties to the military.
Touring Asia in November, Barack Obama hit all the usual presidential themes, including free trade, investment, and strategic alliances, except for one: human rights. During a scripted press conference in Beijing, Obama barely mentioned it. In Shanghai he offered only mild criticism of China's Internet blocks, saying he was a "big supporter of noncensorship." Obama's nonstatements amount to a clear break from nearly three decades of U.S. policy. From its engagement with the brutal Burmese junta to its decision to avoid the Dalai Lama when he first visited Washington during Obama's tenure to its silence over the initial outbreak of protests in Iran, Obama's administration has taken a much quieter approach to rights advocacy than his predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. "Conceding to China upfront doesn't buy you better cooperation further down the track," says Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch.
By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 20, 2010; A09
Some of the computer codes used in the recent attacks on the networks of Google and dozens of other major U.S. companies were developed by a diverse group of Chinese hackers, including security professionals, consultants and temporary contractors, according to an industry source.
The series of attacks, disclosed Jan. 12 by Google, were routed in part through servers at technical schools in China, a commonly used tactic that allows hackers to obfuscate their identity, said the source, who is familiar with the investigation into the security breaches.
By Robert J. Samuelson
Monday, February 15, 2010; A17
It's become apparent from recent events that America's political, business and scholarly elites have fundamentally misjudged China. Conflicts with China have multiplied. Consider: the undervalued renminbi and its effect on trade; the breakdown of global warming negotiations in Copenhagen; China's weak support of efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons; its similarly poor record in pushing North Korea to relinquish its tiny atomic arsenal; the sale of U.S. weapons to Taiwan; and Google's threat to leave China rather than condone continued censorship.
Claudia Rosett, 02.11.10, 12:01 AM EST
As Tehran bids for a seat, what should U.N. members do?
While Iran's regime bloodies its dissidents, the nuclear weapons-loving mullahs are seeking a treat for themselves at the United Nations: Iran is running for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Utterly perverse though it would be, Iran might snag that prize. The 47 seats on the Geneva-based Human Rights Council are parceled out among regional groups of U.N. member states. This year the Asian bloc has four seats opening up. Five contenders have stepped forward: Malaysia, Maldives, Qatar, Thailand--and Iran. The winners will be chosen in May, by secret ballot of the 192-member U.N. General Assembly--a notoriously thug-friendly body, run this year by a former foreign minister of Libya.
Ambassador Michalak: Thank you very much. First off, I apologize for being late. I know to many of you this is the most important event of your day, but I have a few other events that I have to worry about.
I’m going to try to be very brief in my opening remarks so that we can get to questions and answers as quickly as possible.
With the American New Year behind us and the Vietnamese Tet Festival approaching, I want to take this opportunity first of all to wish you health, happiness and success in the coming year, and I want to take this opportunity to share with you some of the highlights of the U.S. Mission’s activities over the years. And many of these activities have been taken and carried out in partnership with the government of Vietnam to reach goals important to both countries.
I’ll also try during my introductory remarks to note some of our important goals for the coming year.
It was back in the 1970s, when I was doing diabetes research in Britain, that I first learned of the political drama surrounding Nelson Mandela. At the time I never would have predicted that one day I, too, would be imprisoned by a repressive regime for advocating human rights and democracy.
By the time of his release from prison many years later, I had already spent 10 years in many labor camps and prisons in Vietnam, and was under house arrest. The Vietnamese communist government had never held a trial.
ZHOUSHAN, China (CNN) -- They operate from a bare apartment on a Chinese island. They are intelligent 20-somethings who seem harmless. But they are hard-core hackers who claim to have gained access to the world's most sensitive sites, including the Pentagon.
In fact, they say they are sometimes paid secretly by the Chinese government -- a claim the Beijing government denies.
"No Web site is one hundred percent safe. There are Web sites with high-level security, but there is always a weakness," says Xiao Chen, the leader of this group.
"Xiao Chen" is his online name. Along with his two colleagues, he does not want to reveal his true identity. The three belong to what some Western experts say is a civilian cyber militia in China, launching attacks on government and private Web sites around the world.
By fits and starts
As China and America square off in the latest round of recriminations, how bad are relations really?
Feb 4th 2010 | BEIJING AND WASHINGTON, DC | From The Economist print edition
Illustration by Peter Schrank
IT IS probably the most important relationship of today’s world, and even more of tomorrow’s. If the United States and China cannot co-operate, what hope of stemming climate change and the spread of nuclear weapons, or returning the global economy to a path of stable growth? Over the past decade, the established superpower and the rising one have rubbed along reasonably well; relations with China are, by common consent, one of the few things George Bush junior got mostly right. But under Barack Obama, after a cordial start, slights have been building up for a while. The past week has produced a sharp reminder of how sensitive the relationship can be—and how quickly it might spin out of control.
By John Pomfret
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 31, 2010; A01
China's indignant reaction to the announcement of U.S. plans to sell weapons to Taiwan appears to be in keeping with a new triumphalist attitude from Beijing that is worrying governments and analysts across the globe.
From the Copenhagen climate change conference to Internet freedom to China's border with India, China observers have noticed a tough tone emanating from its government, its representatives and influential analysts from its state-funded think tanks.
Calling in U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman on Saturday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said the United States would be responsible for "serious repercussions" if it did not reverse the decision to sell Taiwan $6.4 billion worth of helicopters, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles, minesweepers and communications gear. The reaction came even though China has known for months about the planned deal, U.S. officials said.
WASHINGTON - China reacted strongly to Hillary Clinton’s speech in which the United States secretary of state called on it to investigate security breaches which preceded Google's decision last week to end its cooperation with Chinese Internet censorship.
And on Sunday, A Chinese Industry Ministry spokesman flatly rejected claims Beijing was behind the recent cyber attacks. "The accusation that the Chinese government participated in [any] cyber attack, either in an explicit or inexplicit way, is groundless," the spokesman said. "We [are] firmly opposed to that."
THE security service MI5 has accused China of bugging and burgling UK business executives and setting up “honeytraps” in a bid to blackmail them into betraying sensitive commercial secrets.
A leaked MI5 document says that undercover intelligence officers from the People’s Liberation Army and the Ministry of Public Security have also approached UK businessmen at trade fairs and exhibitions with the offer of “gifts” and “lavish hospitality”.
Recent hacker attacks of Google's Gmail email systems have been described as a violation of human rights and international internet protocols. The attacks went far beyond monitoring the communications of dissidents in China. Also hit by the attacks were U.S. government sites, private corporations with industrial secrets in which China has an interest, large U.S. Defense contractors in which experts said the Chinese were seeking information on new weapons systems and IT firms where China was seeking to steal sophisticated software source codes, which would enable China to become even more proficient in internet spying and sabotage. In response to Google's protests, the official People's Daily published a commentary that called Google a "spoiled child" and noted that in its pursuit of profit the Internet giant would not act on its threat to pull out of the Chinese market.
Did Google simply misunderstand China's peaceful pursuit of internet expansion? In March, 2009, researchers in Toronto concluded a 10-month investigation that revealed a massive cyber espionage ring called Ghostnet, which penetrated more than 1,200 systems in 103 countries. The victims were foreign embassies, NGOs, news media institutions, foreign affairs ministries, and international organizations. Almost all Tibet-related organizations had been compromised, including the offices of the Dalai Lama. The attacks used Chinese malware and came from Beijing.
The Straits Times (Singapore)
January 28, 2010 Thursday
Why the US is back in Asia for keeps
Mark Valencia, For The Straits Times
According to United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's speech on Jan 12, 'the US is back in Asia... to stay'.
Given this policy declaration, it is useful to review and update US maritime security priorities in Asia. First and foremost for the US is keeping critical military and commercial sea lanes open, safe and secure for its vessels and those of its friends and allies. Such sea lanes include strategic straits like the Malacca and Singapore straits, and certain Indonesian straits like Makassar and Ombai-Wetar, as well as the Taiwan Strait and the Korean Strait in North-east Asia.
If China wants to rattle cages in neighbouring Vietnam, there are few better ways than asserting its sovereignty over the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. Recent announcements from the State Council that it is formalising plans to develop tourism across the Paracels archipelago appear to reflect rising tensions in the South China Sea, rather than any earnest desire to build resort hotels, marinas and airstrips on the typhoon-lashed network of reefs and sandbars.
Vietnam
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
International Religious Freedom Report 2009
October 26, 2009
The Constitution provides for freedom of worship; however, government restrictions remained on the organized activities of many religious groups.
Respect for religious freedom and practice continued to improve in some regards during the reporting period, though significant problems remained. The Government took further steps to implement its 2004 Ordinance on Religion and Belief and supplemental decrees on religious policy issued in 2005 (collectively, the Government's "legal framework on religion"). The Government also facilitated construction of new training facilities, thus furthering the education of thousands of monks, priests, nuns, and pastors. New congregations were registered in many of the 64 provinces, a number of new religious groups were both recognized and registered at the national level, and the Government generally allowed citizens to practice religion more freely. The Catholic Church, Protestant congregations, and other smaller religious groups reported that their ability to gather and worship improved and that the Government eased restrictions on the assignment of new clergy. The Government also permitted Buddhists, Catholics, and Protestants to hold several large-scale religious services throughout the country, with more than 10,000 religious followers participating in each event. The Catholic Church reported the Government approved the establishment of one additional Catholic seminary in Nam Dinh Province. Protestants and Catholics across the north reported improvement in most officials' attitude toward their religion, and in general Protestants and Catholics were allowed to gather for worship without harassment, despite isolated incidents.
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